Nebraska Economic Indicator Shows Positive Growth in April, Exceeding February’s Record Increase

In April, the economic index at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln saw growth after a significant decline in March. The Nebraska Leading Economic Indicator, which forecasts economic activity six months in advance, increased by 0.42% in April, marking a positive change from the 1.31% decline in March. The index had previously experienced a record increase in February.

According to economist Eric Thompson, who is the director of the Bureau of Business Research, recent data suggests that the Nebraska economy will grow during the fourth quarter of 2024. Despite a challenging start in the first quarter of 2024, growth is expected to pick up in the middle of the year and continue through the end of the year. The six components of the indicator include business expectations, building permits for single-family homes, airline passenger counts, initial claims for unemployment insurance, the value of the U.S. dollar, and manufacturing hours worked. Three of these components showed improvement in April.

Thompson stated that manufacturing hours worked continued to grow in April, indicating strength in both local and national manufacturing industries. Additionally, he noted that there was improvement seen in the labor market during this month as well. Business expectations were positive among surveyed Nebraska businesses which expressed plans to increase sales and employment over their next six months’ period