Nebraska’s Leading Economic Indicator increased for the fourth consecutive month in May, an encouraging sign for the state’s economy through the end of the year.

“The outlook has been very consistent in recent months,” said Eric Thompson, a UNL economist and director of the Bureau of Business Research.

“The fourth consecutive monthly increase continues to suggest that the Nebraska economy will grow solidly in the second half of 2014,” he said.

The indicator, produced by UNL economics faculty and students, and the Bureau of Business Research, is a composite of six components that predict future economic growth: single-family building permits, airline passenger counts, initial unemployment claims, manufacturing hours, the value of the U.S. dollar and business expectations gathered in the Survey of Nebraska Business.

Thompson said the indicator increased by 0.13 percent in May, spurred by beneficial trends in business expectations, the value of the dollar, airline passenger counts and manufacturing trends. However, single-family building permits declined and first-time unemployment claims increased.

The full Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators report and a Technical Report describing the indicators are available at the College of Business Administration website.