Flash Index shows light drop in state’s economy

Posted on February 10, 2020
The index uses a weighted average of consumer spending, personal income, and corporate earnings. Anything above 100 indicates growth. (Photo University of Illinois)

 

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – A measure of the state’s economy shows a slight drop in productivity for the first month of 2020.

The University of Illinois Flash index, authored by economics professor Fred Giertz, slipped from 105.6 to 105.4, The index uses a weighted average of consumer spending, personal income, and corporate earnings. Anything above 100 indicates growth.

“Despite all of the day-to-day things that seemed like crises – Brexit, the trade wars, whatever – the growth rate for the last three quarters is right around two percent for the national economy,” said Giertz, “which isn’t great by the promises of President Trump, but two percent is a whole lot better than a decline. We are kind of moving steadily along, which, for the tenth or eleventh year of the recovery, is pretty good news,”

Giertz goes behind the January numbers: “The income tax receipts – both individual and corporate – were not as strong, but sales tax help up all right. It’s kind of a mixed group of readings, but not quite as strong as last month.”

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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