The current index of economic activity declined 1.82 percent from 103.9 in July to 102 in August. Due to the fluctuations in the month to month data, it is useful to compare index values over longer periods of time. The component breakdown of this increase is explained in more detail below. The graph below plots seasonally and non-seasonally adjusted values for the index of economic activity from January of 1994 through August of 1996. The base month for the index is January,1994 and the index for that month is set at 100.
Seasonal adjustment is a technique used to eliminate seasonal variation among economic data.
An increase in the seasonally adjusted series represents an increase in economic activity beyond the normal seasonal fluctuations. Therefore, the seasonally adjusted series is a better measure of fundamental change in the economy. The bar chart below displays the change in the index values the two previous rolling quarters. On the horizontal axis are the components of the current index of economic activity. The composite component, as shown on the far right of the chart, is the overall change in the economic activity in Humboldt County and displays an increase in the index from 100.2 to 102.5.