Home | Press Room | Press Release Archives | Economic Index November 2010

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For Immediate Release
December 6, 2010
Contact: Cristi Allen
callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 817-640-6166

Arlington, Texas—The Decision Analyst U.S. Economic Index registered 99 in November 2010, an increase of 3 points from October. The trend in the U.S. Economic Index over the past 20 months has been gradual improvement. Since the U.S. Economic Index is a leading indicator (tending to foreshadow overall economic activity by 6 to 12 months), the Index is forecasting a slowly expanding U.S. economy for 2011. Here is the U.S. Economic Index for the past 3 years.

“The outlook for the U.S. economy continues to show modest improvement,” according to Jerry W. Thomas, President/CEO of Decision Analyst. “The manufacturing sector is improving, holiday spending is off to a solid start, interest rates remain low, and most major corporations are making money. The greatest risks to the U.S. economy are continued high unemployment, the foreclosure problem, budget problems of all governmental entities, and the lack of credit for small businesses. Since small businesses are so important in creating new jobs, this lack of credit is retarding job creation,” said Thomas.

International Index

The table below compares the U.S. Economic Index to Decision Analyst’s Economic Indices in other countries. Brazil has the highest Index score at 131, while China follows close behind at a score of 128. France has the lowest score at 79. In Europe the Russian Federation has the highest index at 112, followed by Germany with a score of 109. In North America the United States is doing better than Canada. (See table on below.)

 

Census Divisions

The West North Central Division has the highest score at 100, while the East South Central Division has the lowest score at 94. (See map below.)

 

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 American Consumer Opinion® Online—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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