The Midwest Economy Index gained to negative 0.01 in October from a revised negative 0.10 in September, first reported as negative 0.10, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said Wednesday.
The relative MEI grew to 0.25 from a revised 0.16 in September, first reported as 0.17. The relative MEI indicates that growth in the region was somewhat higher than what would be expected based on national economic growth.
Manufacturing added 0.01 to the index, after taking 0.05 from the index in September, while adding 0.21 to the relative MEI, after a 0.16 contribution in September.
Construction and mining subtracted 0.05 in the month, after a 0.08 subtraction in September, while taking 0.02 from the relative MEI index after a 0.04 subtraction in September.
The service sector added 0.01 to MEI after a 0.02 contribution the prior month, while adding 0.06 to relative MEI after a 0.05 contribution in September.
Consumer spending added 0.02 to MEI, after adding a neutral read in September, while remaining neutral for relative MEI.
By state, Michigan made the largest contribution in October, adding 0.13 to the index and Indiana contributed 0.02. Illinois subtracted 0.06 from the index, while Iowa subtracted 0.05 and Wisconsin subtracted 0.04 from the index.
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.
