Northwest Iowa — This holiday shopping season is the busiest time of the year for many area merchants, but a survey of business leaders here and in eight other Midwestern states shows the economy is still sluggish.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the November figures for Iowa’s overall Business Conditions Index dropped again, while the region’s numbers are slowly rising but are still weak.
In the past year, Goss says the region has lost 16-thousand manufacturing jobs, while it’s gained 102-thousand non-manufacturing jobs. The survey also shows the Midwest is lagging behind the nation in leading economic indicators.
The survey’s regional employment gauge shows the nine-state manufacturing sector continues to lose jobs, as the index fell below growth neutral for the sixth straight month. On a scale of zero to 100, growth neutral is 50, and the job gauge fell to 42 in November, down from 44 in October.
Specifically for Iowa, Goss says both durable and nondurable goods manufacturers are experiencing “pullbacks” in economic activity. One part of the survey showed promise, the November business confidence index. Looking ahead six months, that number soared to nearly 62 from what Goss says was a frail 40 in October. One supply manager said, “So glad the election is over. Let’s go to work.”
