OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new monthly report shows that a loss of manufacturing jobs combined with other factors to slow growth in the regional economy of nine Midwest and Plains states.
The overall index in January for Creighton University’s Mid-America Business Conditions survey released Tuesday fell to 56.2 from December’s 64.6. Any score above 50 on the survey’s indexes suggests growth.
Creighton economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the monthly survey of business leaders, pointed to a loss of manufacturing jobs.
The survey’s business confidence index, which looks ahead six months, plummeted to 36.2 — the lowest reading since the beginning of the pandemic.
The monthly survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
South Dakota: The January Business Conditions Index for South Dakota plummeted to 45.3 from 60.5 in December. Components of the overall index from the January survey of supply managers in the state were: new orders at 41.9, production or sales at 49.0, delivery lead time at 65.3, inventories at 23.8, and employment at 45.6. Since the beginning of the pandemic, South Dakota has lost 200 manufacturing jobs for a loss of 0.5%. During the same period of time, manufacturing hourly wages expanded by 7.2%. (wage data are non-seasonally adjusted from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Survey results for February will be released on March 1, 2022, the first business day of the month.
