The index is based on five components related to employment and construction. Data on sales, employment and building permits in the first quarter all have been solid. Total establishment employment, which grew only 1.3 percent in 1996, and 1.6 percent in 1997, was 2.2 percent higher in the first quarter of 1998 than during the same quarter last year. The number employed in manufacturing was up 0.3 percent, after falling in 1997. First quarter retail sales were up 8.5 percent, compared to same period last year.
Data also show that the oft-predicted downturn in construction has again been postponed.
Construction employment was up 7.7 percent through March, and building permits were up a surprisingly strong 9.8 percent. Also, the business confidence index of the CPRP rose 5.5 percent in the first quarter, after falling during the previous two quarters, and consumer confidence was up in the most recent CPRP survey. This resurgence in economic activity in Mississippi is related to a strong market that has fostered investments in hotels, housing and a variety of businesses including mining, telecommunications, health care and manufacturing. The business opportunities in the state, while in some ways unique, are also closely related to current national and international economic trends. In the short-run, the strong national economy is providing a solid market for many of Mississippi' s products, offsetting the adverse impact the Asian crisis is having on some state exports.