Statewide, Iowa — The economy usually perks up with year-end holiday shopping, but there are few signs of optimism heading into December in the latest survey of business leaders in Iowa and eight other Midwestern states.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says for the first time in recent years, the region’s overall index, or business barometer, plummeted below growth neutral, and it’s now fallen six of the past eight months.
The individual business barometer for Iowa fell even farther during November. On the zero to 100 scale, where 50 is growth neutral, Iowa dropped two full points, from 49.8 in October to 47.8 in November. In the Creighton survey, supply managers in Iowa and the eight other states were asked about the biggest threats they see looming for the rest of 2022 and into 2023.
While labor shortages ranked fourth out of five on that list, the survey finds employers across the region are still having significant trouble finding qualified workers to fill vacancies.
There were a few bright spots. Goss says the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows in the past 12 months, private wages of all workers in Iowa expanded by a little over five percent, while manufacturing wages climbed by almost eight percent.
