Statewide Iowa — Iowa’s economy showed clear signs of improvement during February, according to the monthly Creighton University survey, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine pushed the survey’s business confidence index to its lowest level since the survey began in 1994.
Creighton economist Ernie Goss says the Midwest economy is “up briskly” but business leaders are still dealing with familiar challenges.
Also, nearly one in five respondents listed “rising input prices” as their top challenge. While employment figures were up for February for the region, Goss says they’re still down about two-percent compared to pre-pandemic levels, dating back to February of 2020.
A big issue for the region and nation remains the droves of people leaving the workforce, according to Goss, and he adds, inflation remains very high.
On a zero-to-100 scale with 50 being growth neutral, Goss says Iowa’s Business Conditions Index for February climbed to 60.6 from 56.7 in January. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Goss says Iowa’s nondurable goods manufacturers, including food processors, have expanded at a solid pace, while durable goods producers, including metal manufacturers, have experienced pullbacks in economic activity.
