The Midwest Economy Index remained at 0.25 in April, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said Tuesday.
The relative MEI gained to 0.71 in April from 0.67 in March. The relative MEI indicates that growth in the region was moderately higher than what would be expected based on national economic growth.
Manufacturing contributed 0.02 to the index, after a 0.01 subtraction in March, while adding 0.15 to the relative MEI, after a 0.11 contribution in March.
Construction and mining added 0.04 in the month, after a 0.08 contribution in March, while contributing 0.15 to the relative MEI index in April after adding 0.18 to the index in March.
The service sector contributed 0.10 to MEI in April after a 0.11 addition the prior month, while adding 0.32 to relative MEI after a 0.30 contribution in March.
Consumer spending added 0.08 to MEI, after adding 0.07 in March, while contributing 0.08 to relative MEI, after a 0.07 addition in March.
By state, Wisconsin made the largest contribution in April, adding 0.20, while Michigan contributed 0.19 to the index, and Indiana was neutral. Illinois deleted 0.03 and Iowa subtracted 0.11.
The index is a weighted average of 128 state and regional indicators encompassing the five states in the Seventh Federal Reserve District (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin). The index measures growth in nonfarm business activity.
A zero value for the MEI indicates that the Midwest economy is expanding at its historical trend rate of growth; negative values are associated with below-trend growth while positive values indicate above-trend growth. A zero value for the relative MEI indicates that the Midwest economy is growing at a rate historically consistent with the growth of the national economy; positive values indicate above-average relative growth; and negative values indicate below-average relative growth.
