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Flash Index of Illinois Economy rose moderately in August
J.
Fred Giertz, Institute of Government and Public Affairs
217-244-4822
9/5/2006
EDITORS, NEWS DIRECTORS: The Flash Index of Economic Growth, produced by economists at the University of Illinois, is based on the most up-to-date information on the Illinois economy.
CHAMPAIGN,
Ill. — The U. of I. Flash Index of the state economy
moved up in August to 106.4 from its 106.1 reading in July.
The index remains in 105-107 range it has occupied for the past 17
months. The Illinois economy, similar to the national economy, is moving
forward at a moderate pace as might be expected for this stage of the
expansion that began after the 2001 recession.
The Federal Reserve is now dealing with the “too hot-too cool” problem
with concerns that the overheating of the economy may lead to inflation
while also worrying that raising interest rates may slow the economy
unnecessarily.
Recently, the Fed has decided by leaving interest rates unchanged that
the economy is neither too hot nor too cold.
All three components of the index – individual income-tax, corporate-tax,
and
sales-tax receipts – were up modestly in real terms from the
same month last year.
The Flash Index is a weighted average of Illinois growth rates in corporate
earnings, consumer spending and personal income. Tax receipts from
corporate income, personal income and retail sales are adjusted for
inflation before growth rates are calculated. The growth rate for each
component is then calculated for the 12-month period using data through
Aug. 31.
