The Creighton University Mid-America Business Conditions Index, a leading economic indicator for a nine-state region stretching from Arkansas to North Dakota, showed improvement for December.

Ernie Goss, director of Creighton University’s Economic Forecasting Group, says the index jumped……

Goss says after six consecutive months of below growth neutral readings, the regional employment gauge for December also rose…..

Looking ahead six months, economic optimism, as captured by the December business confidence index, rose to 63.3 from 61.6 in November. Goss says companies are planning on adding about eighty thousand jobs…..

In another show of growing confidence, supply managers added to inventories for December. The December inventory index, which tracks the change in the level of raw materials and supplies, advanced to 52.8 from November’s 42.8.