Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: March 31, 2020

The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) 1 report for this month reflects data from February 2020, a period before the Covid-19 Pandemic began to have a very significant impact on the U.S. economy. As a result, the outlook provided by the leading indicator will not capture the decline in economic activity that occurred beginning in March 2020. Nonetheless, the LEI-N report is presented here to provide information about where the Nebraska economy was headed before the current health crisis. The LEI-N fell by 0.19% during February of 2020. The modest decrease in the LEI-N, which is designed to predict economic activity six months into the future, suggested moderate, rather than strong economic growth for the Nebraska economy through mid-2020. The leading indicator fell due to an increase in initial claims for unemployment insurance during February on a seasonally-adjusted basis. However, business expectations remained positive during the month, with respondents to the February Survey of Nebraska Business reporting plans to increase sales and employment at their businesses over the next six months