Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Flash Index of Illinois Economy breaks 100 barrier for first time in three years

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – After three years, the University of Illinois Flash Economic Index has broken through the 100 level, the dividing line between a sluggish and vigorous economy.

April’s reading of 100.3 suggests that the Illinois economy is undergoing a sustained expansion. This was the first time the Flash Index has been above 100 since April 2001. A year ago in April, the index was at 96.0

“There are numerous signs of growth in the state and national economy,” said J. Fred Giertz, the University of Illinois economist who released the data today (May 3).

“One sign is the growth of corporate profits reported in the first quarter,” Giertz said. “Another is the shift by stock market investors from a concern about a lackluster economy to a fear that interest rates will rise because of the strength of the economy.”

All three components of the Flash Index were up compared with the same month last year. Individual and corporate income-tax receipts were especially strong last month.

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 April 30.

Read Next

Life sciences Photo of Michael Ward standing in tall grass on a riverbank.

How are migrating wild birds affected by H5N1 infection in the U.S.?

Each spring, roughly 3.5 billion wild birds migrate from their warm winter havens to their breeding grounds across North America, eating insects, distributing plant seeds and providing a variety of other ecosystem services to stopping sites along the way. Some also carry diseases like avian influenza, a worry for agricultural, environmental and public health authorities. […]

Announcements Marcelo Garcia, professor of civil and environmental engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering.

Illinois faculty member elected to National Academy of Engineering

Champaign, Ill. — Marcelo Garcia, a professor of civil and environmental engineering in The Grainger College of Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Social sciences Male and female student embracing on the quad with flowering redbud tree and the ACES library in the background. Photo by Michelle Hassel

Dating is not broken, but the trajectories of relationships have changed

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — According to some popular culture writers and online posts by discouraged singles lamenting their inability to find romantic partners, dating is “broken,” fractured by the social isolation created by technology, pandemic lockdowns and potential partners’ unrealistic expectations. Yet two studies of college students conducted a decade apart found that their ideas about […]

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

507 E. Green St
MC-426
Champaign, IL 61820

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010