Survey: Economy remains on skid

A monthly survey of rural Midwest bankers indicates that economic conditions continue to slide, and most in the survey said they expect holiday retail sales to decline this year.

But the ten-state Rural Mainstreet Index improved slightly from 36.5 in September's survey to 37.5 on a 100-point scale. Figures below 50 indicate economic decline.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who originated the survey in 2005 with Greeley, Neb., banker Bill McQuillan, said October was the 20th straight month below the "growth neutral" level. The bankers saw few signs of recovery, he said, as decline in farm income influenced the rural areas of the states -- Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Nebraska's index was 38.7, down from 40.4 in September. Iowa's index was 37.1, up from 32.3 in September.

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