Lubbock Economic Index Rises, As Do Prices

Lubbock’s economic index is on the rise.

The Lubbock Economic Index for October jumped to 122.6, up from September’s 121.9. This is the LEI’s largest month-to-month increase since April 2010, and according to Lubbock National Bank, only the 2^nd largest since September of 2008.

The index is still down 1.2 percent from October 2010’s LEI of 124.1. The peak LEI occurred in September 2008, reaching 134.0, and October 2011’s index is still down 8.5 percent in comparison.

Job creation continues to climb in the Lubbock metro area, and other economic indicators are improving as well.

Taxable retail spending for October was up 5.9 percent compared to the same period last year. Lubbock is also experiencing a 3 percent year-over-year job growth rate, ranking the city fifth out of 26 metro areas in the state. Around 2,600 jobs were added to the Lubbock economy within the past year, putting the October 2011 employment total up by around 2000 jobs, compared to the peak in October 2008.

Construction activity is climbing sharply, with building permit valuations up 47 percent compared to one year ago, when the permit total was down by over 40 percent. New housing permits have not changed from 1 year ago.

The Lubbock Consumer Price Index has continued to rise as well, hitting 4 percent in October, up from September’s 3.8 percent rate of change.

The housing portion of the Lubbock CPI for October rose to 2.8 percent, up from September’s 2.6 percent. The rate of increase slowed for the energy/utilities sector for October, dropping to 3.2 percent from the prior month’s 3.3 percent.

The CPI-U dropped for October to 3.5 percent from 3.9 percent in September.