Nebraska’s Leading Economic Indicator jumped 1.89 percent in April.

The rapid increase is the third straight month of improvement in the indicator, said UNL economist Eric Thompson, director of UNL’s Bureau of Business Research. The indicator is a tool that predicts economic conditions for the coming six months.

The April improvement was its strongest showing since December 2013.

“The Nebraska economy is expected to grow moderately over the next few months and grow solidly in the second half of 2014,” Thompson said.

Produced by faculty and students in UNL’s Department of Economics and the Bureau of Business Research in the College of Business Administration, the indicator is a composite of six factors 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 collected in the monthly Survey of Nebraska Business.

April saw positive reports in four of the six components. Initial unemployment claims dropped significantly, while businesses predicted increased sales and jobs over the next six months. Building permits for homes increased, while Nebraska’s exporters benefited from a decline in the value of the U.S. dollar.

Manufacturing hours and airline passenger counts declined slightly.

The full monthly report, as well as a technical report describing the indicators, is available at the College of Business Administration website, http://www.cba.unl.edu.