Creighton University’s monthly survey of supply managers in 9 midwest and plains state had its best showing in months in April.

Economist and survey head Ernie Goss says virtually every category in the survey came in above the growth-neutral point of 50, led by the overall index…which jumped more than 5 points to 58.2.

Goss cautions about being too excited about the numbers, saying several consecutive months of similar readings are needed to be confident that the regional economy is picking up steam.

Still, he sees a lot of reason for optimism…including the job index, which improved nearly 5 points to 56.3 after having been below growth-neutral just 2 months ago

Another positive signs in the survey included the prices-paid index, which tracks inflation at the wholesale level, dropping 8-1/2 points to 64.1…which surprised Goss…and inventory levels that increased for the fourth straight month.

Goss says those all helped push up the business confidence index…how the supply managers see things 6 months from now…nearly 8 points to 58.2.  He also thinks the fact  that the federal sequestration cuts had a much smaller impact than feared was another factor in the jump in the confidence index.

The Creighton survey…which dates back to 1994…also gives numbers for each of the 9 states as well as for the full 9-state MidAmerica region.

After dropping below growth-neutral for 2 of the past 3 months, Nebraska’s overall index jumped 4.7 points to 54.4. The employment index was still under at 48.1, but Goss says even that came with positives.

Those include good growth in durable goods manufacturing…especially metal manufacturers and ag equipment producers…and upturns in nondurable goods manufacturing and the state’s large food manufacturing sector showing improvements.

South Dakota’s overall index rose 6.2 points to 58.7, and Goss says all the indicators were strong for March…as manufacturers reported expanding economic conditions and new hiring for the month.