Survey Suggests Nebraska Businesses Are Confident Again Since the Pandemic's Early Days

For the first time since the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nebraska business confidence turned positive in January. That’s according to the latest monthly survey from the Bureau of Business Research at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

Bureau Director Eric Thompson said businesses have been pessimistic about sales and employment over the past few months, but have positive expectations for the future, with an index value of 119.3, which is above neutral.

"The question I have is, is this a permanent uptick? You know, the vaccines are starting to roll out, maybe some other signs of progress in the economy? Or is it just sort of normal New Year's optimism that you might expect at the beginning of the year?" he said.

Thompson said COVID-19 continues to be Nebraska businesses’ top concern. He stresses survey results represent all of January, and not just the beginning of the month.

The full survey report is available on the Bureau of Business Research website.