OMAHA, Nebraska -- The Midwest economy is continuing to recover from COVID-19.
September's nine-state Mid-America Business Conditions Index shows a 65.1 on a scale of 100. That's up from August's index reading of 60.
"This is the fifth straight month the index has grown since reaching a real--I'll call it--a valley in April of this year when COVID-19 really hit the regional economy" says Creighton University Economist Ernie Goss.
Goss says September's Index reading is the highest level since June 2019.
He says last month's index also shows positive employment numbers. Goss says that continues to fill the hole left by COVID-19 business shut-downs.
"Down 751,000 jobs--that about 5.4 percent loss since COVID-19, or pre-COVID-19, that would be February of this year. We have a long way to go" Goss says.
Goss says four of five supply managers interviewed for the Index say their firms were experiencing difficulty finding and hiring qualified workers.
The Mid-America Business Conditions Index is a monthly survey of business managers in Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.