The July Wichita State University Current Conditions and Leading Economic Index are now available at www.index.CEDBR.org.

The current index is down 0.6 percent from April to May, and the current economic activity is 0.3 percent higher than it was in May of 2012.

Although total non-farm employment has improved over the past year, the level of employment in the Wichita area decreased by 1,400 workers between April and May, resulting in a higher unemployment rate. Additionally the hours and earnings of production workers decreased.

The leading index has also declined from April to May, by 0.18 percent. This indicates that economic activity is not anticipated to be higher in the late fall than the current level of economic activity in the Wichita area. This can be attributed to a decline in the Kansas Leading Index for both April and May.

The data for the Kansas leading index was revised by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on July 2. The combined deterioration of the Aircraft Production Index and the Kansas Leading Index were only slightly offset by mild improvements in the other two index components.

WSU's Center for Economic Development and Business Research has compiled the current and leading indices to provide insights into the present and future state of the Wichita economy.

The WSU Current Conditions Index is designed to give an indication of the present conditions of the Wichita metropolitan area economy. The WSU Leading Economic Indicators Index is designed to give an indication of where the Wichita economy is headed over the next six months.