The Wichita State Center for Economic Development and Business Research has released the September WSU Current Conditions and Leading Economic Index to provide insights into the local economy. 

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• 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.

The current index is down 0.2 percent from the June level, and current economic activity is 0.2 percent higher than it was in July of 2012. The current decrease in economic activity can be attributed to the deterioration of three of the four components of the index.

Although total non-farm employment has improved slightly between June and July, the unemployment rate has increased. There has also been a decrease in the hours and earnings of production employees in the Wichita area.

The leading index is flat between June and July. This indicates that economic activity is not anticipated to be significantly different in six months than the current level of economic activity in the Wichita area. This can be attributed to the very small positive adjustments to the Aircraft Production Index and the International Leading Index.

The National Industrial Production Index has also been flat between June and July. This indicates the anticipated stability in the Wichita economy is a reflection of the overall level of anticipated activity in the national economy.