Bureau of Business Research
Date of this Version
2014
Document Type
Article
Citation
Prepared by the UNL College of Business Administration, Department of Economics
Abstract
The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) fell by 1.33% during November 2014. The sharp decline in the LEI-N, which predicts economic growth in the state six months in the future, suggests that economic growth will slow during the second quarter of 2015. Four of six components of the leading economic indicator weakened during November. For the fourth consecutive month, there was a significant increase in the value of the U.S. Dollar. Such an increase reduces the competiveness of export businesses. There also was an increase in initial unemployment claims during the month. Further, airline passenger counts and building permits for single-family homes declined. Weakness among these key economic figures stands in contrast to the outlook among Nebraska businesses. In particular, respondents to the Survey of Nebraska Business predicted an increase in sales and employment over the next six months.
Comments
Copyright 2014 Eric Thompson and William Walstad