More Data Shows Turnaround

Several recent economic reports reaffirm the growing optimism that better days are ahead.

Joseph LaFace, director of economic and tax research for the Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration, recently commenting on the state’s May revenue figures, said economists at the agency now think the increases are the result of “real economic growth.”

And from Creighton University, the Mid-America Business Conditions Index for Arkansas recorded a big jump in May, although the region as a whole declined a bit. Creighton researchers survey business leaders and supply managers in a nine-state region, including Nebraska, Iowa, Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota to get their numbers.

Here’s what that report said:

“Arkansas’ May Business Conditions Index rose sharply to 67 from April’s very healthy 60.4. While the Arkansas economy has added few jobs this year, recent solid new orders, both domestic and export, will translate into job growth in the second half of the year.

“May readings for components of the overall index were 72 for new orders, 70 for production, 66 for employment, 60 for inventories and 58 for delivery time. Just as in April, firms reported strong new export orders with a May reading of 59.4.”

An index reading above 50 indicates expansion, while one below 50 indicates a contraction in manufacturing activity.

The only negative in the report was that high gasoline prices have helped fuel inflationary pressures.

Another interesting report shows Arkansas was ranked No. 9 in women’s business growth, according to research done by the Center for Women’s Business Research. That’s among privately held women-owned businesses.

According to the study, the 103,686 private, women-owned businesses in Arkansas — 49.2 percent of all private businesses in the state — generate nearly $26 billion in sales and employ 230,348 people.

An article in the Christian Science Monitor reports on the “paradoxical job recovery in the South: Despite the thousands of manufacturing and technology jobs lost in recent years, this magnolia-scented region is now leading the nation in job creation.”

• Total nonfarm employment in the South grew slightly over the past four years, while the nation as a whole lost a net of nearly 2 million jobs.

• From November 2003 to April 2004, the region’s jobless rate dropped from 5.6 to 5 — the lowest rate of any U.S. region, the article said.