Northwest Iowa — The new monthly survey of supply managers and business leaders in the region finds the numbers climbing for the fourth straight month.
Economist Ernie Goss says the February report of leading economic indicators is very encouraging.
The overall index specifically for Iowa leapt by a huge margin, from nearly 52 in January to almost 63 in February. For the region, Goss says the business confidence index in this new survey soared to its highest level in six years.
The survey finds the region is adding manufacturing jobs at a solid pace, though the wholesale inflation gauge is also rising to its highest level since April of 2014.
Goss says the recent surveys point to solid growth in our area for the next six months with up to 45-hundred job additions statewide. It shows Iowa’s leading industries are food processing and ethanol production, while the lagging industries include metal manufacturers and agriculture equipment producers.
