Nebraska Business and Consumer Confidence Indexes: June 2, 2017

Consumer confidence fell in Nebraska during May 2017 while business confidence remained very strong. The Consumer Confidence Index – Nebraska (CCI-N) fell to roughly neutral during May. The CCI-N stood at 102.5 in April but fell to 100.4 during May, which is only slightly above the neutral value of 100.0. The outlook of Nebraska businesses remained very strong. The Business Confidence Index – Nebraska (BCI-N) rose to 110.2 in May, above its April value of 109.1 and well above the neutral value. Business confidence has been very strong in Nebraska during the first five months of 2017. When asked about the most important issue facing their business, customer demand was mentioned by 30 percent of business respondents. Concerns about customer demand were most common in the agriculture and health care industries. The availability and quality of labor was mentioned as the most important issue by 27 percent of respondents. Another 9 percent mentioned competition from other businesses, particularly online businesses. Households reported a variety of financial concerns with 30 percent reporting that their primary financial concerns relate to paying off debt or savings and 49 percent choosing the cost of living including health care costs, taxes, major expenses (furniture, appliances, automobiles or college tuition) and the general cost of living. Household responsese are similar to those from previous months