Rural main street economy continues to be sluggish

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - The economic slide in a 10-state region that includes South Dakota is at least stalled, according to the December Rural Mainstreet Survey by Creighton University.

Before December, the last six months showed below growth readings in the area. December that rose above the growth neutral threshold of 50. Granted, it was just 50.01 but it climbed from 45.7 in November.

South Dakota trailed most of the region. According to Creighton’s survey, the December Rural Mainstreet Index for South Dakota was 41.7, an increase from November’s 38.9.

“The Rural Mainstreet economy continues to experience slow, to no, to slightly negative economic growth,” said Ernie Goss, PhD, Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business.

When you break down the survey to farming and ranching, the news is a little better. Creighton forecasts farm income to be up 10 percent at the end of the year.