The University of Illinois’ Flash Index, a measure of the overall performance of the Illinois economy, recently reported an increase after four straight months of decline.
The Flash index is “the weighted average of Illinois growth rates in corporate earnings, consumer spending, and personal income as estimated from receipts for corporate income, individual income, and retail sales taxes.”
A score above 100 indicates that the Illinois economy is growing. In this case, May numbers show that the Illinois economy is still in growth mode, albeit slightly.
Recent employment numbers showed that the U.S. economy added more jobs than what most economists anticipated, resulting in a current unemployment rate of 4.3 percent. Unemployment in Illinois is still above the national average, sitting at 5.1 percent. However, the recent uptick from the Flash Index is a sign of a possible reversal of trend.
Consumers tend to spend more over the course of the summer months. However, with gas and energy prices still volatile, time will tell whether this may deter consumer spending, such as cutting back on summer vacation travel.
Prairie State Policy 