Omaha, Nebraska — Iowa’s economy bucked the regional trend and improved slightly during March, but the monthly Creighton University survey of supply managers in Iowa and eight other Midwestern states finds the region’s manufacturing sector slipped into recession — and has been there for a while.
Creighton economist Ernie Goss says the overall Business Conditions Index fell below growth neutral for the third time in four months.
The index is measured on a zero-to-100 scale where 50 is considered growth neutral. Iowa’s Business Conditions Index for March improved to 51-point-8 from 49-point-3 in February. Goss says the employment situation for the region is bleak as the Midwest’s manufacturing sector lost jobs for a third straight month.
Wholesale prices climbed to the highest level in more than a year, and the report shows March’s inflation reading is the highest since February of 2023. Goss says last week’s deadly bridge collapse that blocked the port of Baltimore, Maryland is having ripple effects well into the Midwest.
According to the latest month’s U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, there were two job openings for every unemployed worker in Iowa, which is the same ratio recorded 12 months ago.
