Ernie Goss (file photo)
A monthly survey of supply managers in the region shows a weakening economy in Iowa and around the Midwest.
Creighton University Economist Ernie Goss compiles the Mid-America Business Conditions Index and the numbers for September are not good.
“The overall index decreased to 45.5 (from 47.8 in August). That’s not good. That’s well below growth neutral,” Goss said. The “growth neutral” mark is 50 and the overall index has now stayed below that mark for three consecutive months.
Goss says weakness among manufacturers linked to agriculture and energy continue to weigh on economic conditions in Iowa and the eight other states involved in the survey.
“The manufacturing sector continues to shed jobs as you hear the economy is doing well. It is not doing well, particularly the manufacturing sector,” Goss said. Goss expects job creation in the Midwest will lag behind the nation as a whole for the remainder of 2016. The employment index for the nine state region remained below growth neutral for a fourth straight month.