• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Business / Creighton survey finds continued recovery in Midwest economy

Creighton survey finds continued recovery in Midwest economy

July 1, 2021 By Matt Kelley

Ernie Goss

A survey of business leaders across Iowa and eight other states finds the Midwestern economy making solid gains as the pandemic wanes, but Iowa’s economy slipped slightly during June.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the region has been seeing sizeable growth for 13 of the past 14 months.
“The manufacturing economy is really, really bouncing back, very strong,” Goss says. “The overall region remains below pre-pandemic levels but we’re moving in the right direction. Only one out of ten supply managers report a lessening of bottlenecks and delays in deliveries. That’s where there are some real issues.”

On a zero to 100 scale where 50 is growth neutral, the regional economy posted a 73.5 for June, up from 72.3 in May. Iowa’s economy didn’t see as strong a showing, however, falling to 69.5 from 70.2 in May. Still, Goss emphasizes, the numbers are good, especially in regards to employment.

“Hiring was very healthy for the month of June despite shortages of workers,” Goss says. “Regional employment still is about 4.1% below pre-pandemic levels. U.S. employment is about 5% below pre-pandemic levels.” Not only since the onset of COVID-19, but for years prior, employers across Iowa and the region have bemoaned the lack of skilled workers to fill thousands of open positions.

The survey results for June continued to confirm the pattern. “Fifty-three percent of our supply managers indicated they will continue to hire and increase hiring for the rest of 2021,” Goss says. “None, zero percent, expect layoffs for the rest of 2021 so that’s a good signal for hiring.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, average hourly wages for manufacturing production workers in Iowa rose 7.7% over the past 12 months, while among the nine Midwest states, the growth in Iowa ranked third.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Business, News Tagged With: Employment and Labor

Featured Stories

Summit has easements for 20% of carbon pipeline route through Iowa

Morel mushroom hunters on hold without warmer conditions

Trinity Health aquiring all MercyOne health properties

Field of Dreams site developer wants to bid on state baseball, softball tournaments

Governor gets bill targeting Iowa bars deemed ‘public safety nuisance’

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

Radio Iowa/Baseball Coaches Association High School Poll 5/16/22

Iowa assistant coach Kirk Speraw to retire

Northern Iowa prepares for Missouri Valley Conference softball tournament

T.J. Otzelberger announces staff changes at Iowa State

Iowa State adds transfer guard

More Sports

eNews and Updates

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Archives

Copyright © 2022 ยท Learfield News & Ag, LLC