There’s another measure of the region’s economic growth pattern out, this time from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and while it’s not an overwhelming report, at least it records growth. The new Midwest Economy Index ranks Michigan’s economic growth rate as third of the five states regularly measured in the index with a small pattern of growth.
The new report issued late last week is an update on economic performance measures in four key sectors of the economy — Manufacturing, Construction, Services, and Consumer Spending.
While Michigan’s +0.12 score swamps Indiana’s negative reading of -0.03, and edges Iowa’s +0.04 performance, the Great Lakes state trails scores for Wisconsin at +0.18 and Illinois at +0.15.
The good news in the report is that any reading that carries a positive value is a reflection that the state’s economy is growing faster than it’s long-term average rate of growth according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Michigan’s biggest gains came in the Manufacturing sector which clocked in at +0.06, followed by a +0.04 gain in the Services sector and a +0.02 reading in the Construction sector. Michigan’s Consumer Spending lagged with a negative check-in at -0.01.
Taken as a whole, the Midwest Economy Index moved up to +0.44 in February from a reading in January of +0.34. The manufacturing sector’s contribution to the MEI increased to +0.47 in February from +0.39 in January, as manufacturing activity increased not only in Michigan, but also in Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin while activity in that sector declined in Illinois when compared to January’s performance.
Michigan’s negative figures in Consumer Spending were outpaced by gains in every other state in the Midwest region.
The Midwest Economy Index is a weighted average of 129 state and regional indicators encompassing all five states in the region which makes up the Seventh Federal Reserve District. It measures growth in non-farm business activity based on indicators in the four broad sectors identified earlier.
Here’s a link to the full report with the state-by-state comparisons on all measures:
