Manufacturing Index Turns Positive Even as Job Losses Continue

Creighton University’s Mid-America Business Conditions Index, a leading economic indicator for the nine-state region stretching from Minnesota to Arkansas, climbed slightly above the 50.0 growth neutral threshold. The October index rose to 51.1 from 48.1 in September. The October employment index sank to 44.2 from September’s 44.3. Despite falling manufacturing employment, approximately 11.1 percent of supply managers named labor shortages as their firm’s top threat to business operations in the months ahead.