May 1, 2023 - For a third straight month, the Creighton University Mid-America Business Conditions Index, a leading economic indicator for the nine-state region stretching from Minnesota to Arkansas, expanded above growth neutral, according to today’s report from Creighton University’s Economic Forecasting Group.
April 2023 Survey Highlights:
For a third straight month, the region’s overall index climbed above growth neutral.
The regional wholesale inflation gauge points to waning inflationary pressures.
Approximately 58% of supply managers expect a 2023 recession.
For a third consecutive month, the region’s employment gauge moved into a slow growth range.
Trade numbers, both imports and exports, have been weak for all of 2023. New export orders tumbled to a reading of 47.8 showing a further contraction of the nation’s exports. Imports, on the other hand, grew slightly to 52.6 in April.
“After flashing recession warning signals between November 2022 and January 2023, Creighton’s monthly survey of manufacturing supply managers is now pointing to positive but slow growth with cooling inflationary pressures at the wholesale level,” said Ernie Goss, PhD, director of Creighton University’s Economic Forecasting Group and the Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics in the Heider College of Business.
