Iowa’s faring better than at least one of its neighbors in a monthly survey of business conditions in the Midwest, according to Creighton University economics professor Ernie Goss.Goss says things for companies in Iowa look better than in Nebraska, where drought has had a big impact on non-farm companies that do business with the ag industry. Goss says heavy industry’s recovering nicely, a bright spot in the Hawkeye state’s economy. Iowa’s holding up better than the other Midwest states he surveys, though the service industry is not holding up as well or hiring as fast as it was this time last year. But Goss seems confident that hiring will increase in Iowa closer to the end of the year. He says even though new orders and production have expanded, employers are being cautious and not hiring any new workers until this economic turnaround is “in the bag.” Goss says businesses seeing a cloudy profit picture are staying on the sidelines, making their production increases with more overtime work by the same workforce. Goss says Iowa’s high rating in his Business Conditions Index points to “solid growth” in the months to come.
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