Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

UI Flash Economic Index rebounds in April

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. After a month below the 100 mark, the University of Illinois Flash Economic Index rebounded in April, indicating positive growth for the Illinois economy.

The April reading of 101.3 was a sharp rise from the 99.7 level in March. “It is too early to label the April results as a turnaround,” said J. Fred Giertz, a UI economist who released the Flash Index today (May 1).

But Giertz said the reading did indicate that the economy was not in a recession (as officially defined by two quarters of negative growth), but rather in a period of slow growth similar to the pace of the second half of 2000. A year ago in April, the Flash Index stood at 103.2.

“The results over the next few months will answer the question of whether the economy has made a soft landing and avoided the much-talked-about recession that has, in fact, not yet happened,” Giertz said.

The engine of growth in the Flash Index last month was individual income-tax receipts. The state of Illinois registered the first $1 billion month in individual income-tax collections in its history. Corporate profits were also up in “real” (inflation-adjusted) terms.

The Flash Index is a weighted average of growth rates in sales-tax receipts, individual income-tax receipts and corporate earnings in Illinois. The growth rate for each component is then calculated for the 12-month period using data through April 30.

Read Next

Life sciences Portrait of the research team posing together.

Minecraft players can now explore whole cells and their contents

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists have translated nanoscale experimental and computational data into precise 3D representations of bacteria, yeast and human epithelial, breast and breast cancer cells in Minecraft, a video game that allows players to explore, build and manipulate structures in three dimensions. The innovation will allow researchers and students of all ages to navigate […]

Arts Photo of seven dancers onstage wearing blue tops and orange or yellow flowing skirts. The backdrop is a Persian design.

February Dance includes works experimenting with live music, technology and a ‘sneaker ballet’

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The dance department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will present February Dance 2025: Fast Forward this week at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. February Dance will be one of the first performances in the newly renovated Colwell Playhouse Theatre since its reopening. The performances are Jan. 30-Feb. 1. Dance professor […]

Honors portraits of four Illinois researchers

Four Illinois researchers receive Presidential Early Career Award

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Four researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign were named recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. The winners this year are health and kinesiology professor Marni Boppart, physics professor Barry Bradlyn, chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Ying […]

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

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

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010