PROVIDENCE – For the second month in a row, Rhode Island’s leading economic indicator has increased.
The economic index of the Ocean State, produced jointly by Providence Business News and e-forecasting.com, showed a reading of 133.6 in September, an increase of 0.3 percent, following an August increase of 0.2 percent.
A reading of 100 is equal to the state’s economic activity in 2000.
The index predicts the Rhode Island economy based on nine components, six of which had a positive contribution in September: unemployment claims, weekly hours in manufacturing, building permits, exports of manufactures, interest rate spread and state employment barometer. The three components that had a negative contribution to the leading indicator were: regional consumer expectations, national stock prices and national orders index.
The six-month growth rate for the index was 2.4 percent in September, following an increase of 2.2 percent in August. That compares with a long-term annual growth rate of 1.8 percent, equal to the state’s overall economic growth rate.