Midwest business conditions worsen

Business conditions in the Midwest continued to decline in October with almost one out of five manufacturers expecting layoffs in the next six months.

Creighton University's Mid-America Business Conditions Index slumped to 41.9 from September's 47.7. It marked the third straight month that the nine-state region's overall index moved below growth neutral 50.

Ernie Goss, director of Creighton's Institute for Economic Inquiry, said the regional index is pointing to weak, and potentially negative growth through the fourth quarter of 2015.

'The strong dollar and global economic weakness are having a negative impact on manufacturers and businesses linked to manufacturing in the region,” Goss said in a news release.

Since October 2014, the Midwest manufacturing sector has lost almost 12,000 jobs, or approximately 1 percent of the region's manufacturing employment.

'Metal producers and agricultural equipment manufacturers continue to report job losses,” Goss said. 'Since our survey oversamples manufacturing firms, it is not surprising that our overall index has weakened significantly for states with a large agricultural and energy presence.”

Looking ahead six months, economic optimism, as captured by the October business confidence index, sank to 42.3 from 43.4 in September.

Iowa's October Business Conditions Index declined to 44.2 from 50.2 in September. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that over the last year, Iowa has lost 1,700, or 0.8 percent, of its manufacturing jobs.

'Our surveys of supply managers in the state indicate that this trend will continue into the first quarter of 2016,” Goss said.