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Press Release Archives | U.S. Census Division
Economic Indices
For Immediate Release
April 5, 2010
Contact: Cristi Allen
callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 817-640-6166
Decision Analyst’s U.S. Economic Index For March
Sees No Change
Arlington, Texas—Decision Analyst’s U.S. Economic Index registered
95 in March 2010, the same as February. The Index has remained relatively flat
for the past six months, suggesting that the economy is improving and will improve,
but at a very slow rate. Since this Index tends to lead the U.S. economy by
six to 12 months, it continues to predict a gradually improving economy during
2010. Below is the Index for the past three years.
“The good news is that the U.S. economy is gradually getting
better. However, the recovery remains tentative and fragile. Long-term unemployment
and under-employment remain massive national problems that will continue to
exert downward pressure on the economic recovery,” said Jerry W. Thomas,
President/CEO of Decision Analyst. “The economy continues to struggle
with lack of credit and lack of confidence, but the continued uptrend in U.S.
stock markets is helping. Much of the positive economic news is resulting from
unprecedented assistance from the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve, and
it remains to be seen if the economy can grow once the stimulus is diminished.”
The New England division appears to be doing better than the rest of the U.S.
The Pacific and South Atlantic divisions are comparatively weak. (See regional
map below.)
| Three-Year History By Census
Division |
The New England division has increased the most over the past 12 months, increasing
14 points from 85 in March 2009 to 99 in March 2010. Closely following is the
East North Central division, increasing from 81 in March 2009 to 94 in March
2010. Over that same time period, the West North Central and West South Central
divisions had the smallest increase of only five index points. The West North
Central division increased from 90 in March 2009 to 95 in March 2010, while
the West South Central increased from 91 in March 2009 to 96 in March 2010.
Census Division Three-Month Moving Average
The Index numbers for the census divisions are a three-month moving average
to smooth out fluctuations due to smaller sample sizes. The reported Index number
averages the current month with the two previous months.
Methodology
The Decision Analyst Economic Index is based on a monthly Internet survey of
several thousand households balanced by gender, age, and geography. The online
survey is conducted the last 10 days of each month. The Economic Index is calculated
from nine different economic measurements using a sophisticated econometric
model. The result is a snapshot of current economic activity in each country
surveyed, as seen through the eyes of representative consumers living in the
respective countries. Decision Analyst conducts its concurrent economic surveys
each month in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia,
France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Russian Federation,
Spain, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela.
Whenever the Decision Analyst Economic Index is greater than 110, it tends
to signal an expanding economy. An Index value of 100 to 110 suggests a slow-growth
economy, and near or below 100 generally indicates economic contraction. These
guidelines vary by country, however.
About Decision Analyst
Decision Analyst (www.decisionanalyst.com) is a leading global marketing research
and analytical consulting firm specializing in advertising testing, strategy
research, new product development, and advanced modeling for marketing decision
optimization. The 32-year-old firm delivers competitive advantage to clients
throughout the world in the consumer packaged goods, telecommunications, retail,
technology, medical, and pharmaceutical industries. In addition, Decision Analyst
owns and operates the American Consumer Opinion® Online panel—one
of the largest consumer opinion panels in the world—with more than eight
million members.
For additional information contact:
Cristi Allen
Publicity
Email: callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 1-800-ANALYSIS (262-5974) or 1-817-640-6166
Address: 604 Avenue H East
Arlington, TX 76011
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