Nebraska Business and Consumer Confidence Indexes: July 6, 2018

Business confidence surged in Nebraska during June 2018. The Business Confidence Index – Nebraska (BCI-N) rose from 102.4 in May to 115.4 In June. The Consumer Confidence Index – Nebraska (CCI-N) also rose, ticking up from 101.3 in May to 103.9 in June. The surge in business confidence is a significant improvement, especially since both business and consumer confidence had declined in Nebraska during April and May. With confidence high, businesses were concerned about costs and competition. When asked about the most important issue facing their business, customer demand was mentioned by 27 percent of respondents, while the availability and quality of labor was mentioned by 23 percent and 13 percent mentioned competitive conditions. The share of businesses raising concerns about the cost of goods and services also was higher than in recent years, due to rising oil prices and tariffs. Households reported a variety of financial concerns with 55 percent choosing the cost of living including health care costs, taxes, major expenses (furniture, appliances, automobiles) and the general cost of living. Twenty-five percent reported that their primary financial issue was either paying off debt or saving