Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Flash Index of Illinois economy up sharply in August

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The U of I Flash Index rebounded strongly in August, reaching 100.5. Last month’s reading was 100.0. The current index level is the highest since April 2001.

The strong performance in August ends a period during which the index had hovered around the 100 barrier since breaking through the barrier in April of this year. Readings above 100 indicate a growing economy; readings below 100 indicate a shrinking economy.

“The current higher reading comes at a time when there are contradictory signs about the national economy,” said J. Fred Giertz, the U. of I. economist who compiles the monthly index. “Consumer confidence fell in July and the GDP numbers were revised downward slightly for the second quarter while expectations about job growth and sales are strong for the remainder of the year, according to a Business Roundtable report.”

The results of all three components of the index were unambiguous in August with individual income-tax, corporate-tax and sales-tax receipts all up in real terms compared with the same month a year ago.

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.

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