Arkansas' overall economy improved in February compared with January, but the state posted a more than 5% decline in the export of manufacturing goods in 2025, according information in the Creighton University Mid-America Business Conditions Index. The broader mid-America economy also improved in February, but job numbers remain low, prices remain high and most business managers report negative impacts from tariff uncertainty, according to the Creighton report. The index, which measures economic conditions for a nine-state region stretching from Minnesota to Arkansas, moved above growth neutral for February to its highest level since March 2025. The overall Business Conditions Index increased to a 54.7 from 49.6 in January, according to the Creighton report posted Monday (March 2). Any number above 50 shows growth conditions. "Creighton's latest survey indicates that a sharp upturn in new orders for the month pushed the overall index into solid growth territory," said Ernie Goss, director of Creighton University's Economic Forecasting Group and the Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics in the Heider College of Business. The February employment index rose to 49.2 from...
Source: https://talkbusiness.net/2026/03/arkansas-economy-improves-in-february-2025-exports-decline/
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