Nebraska Business and Consumer Confidence Indexes: August 2, 2019

Business confidence rebounded in Nebraska during July 2019 while consumer confidence declined. The Consumer Confidence Index – Nebraska (CCI-N) fell to 101.2 in July, slightly above the neutral value of 100 but below the June value of 104.4. The Business Confidence Index – Nebraska (BCI-N) rose to 112.0 in July, which is well above the neutral level and up 11.7 from a value of 100.3 in June. When asked about the most important issue facing their business, 34 percent of respondents chose customer demand while 24 mentioned the quality and availability of labor and 15 percent mentioned competition from other businesses. Sixty-five percent of responding households listed a cost factor as their top financial concern, including taxes, health care costs, the general cost of living and major expenses (furniture, appliances, automobiles). Notably, an elevated 17 percent of households listed taxes as their top concern. Eighteen percent reported that their primary financial issue was either saving or paying off debt