A monthly survey of business leaders and supply managers in Iowa and eight other Midwestern states finds an upturn in the overall business conditions index for December. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss  says the December report points to positive economic growth for the next three to six months, although the jobs index for the region fell from November.

Job growth for the Midwest region is at one-point-two percent, versus one-point-seven percent nationally, which Goss says is due to fewer available workers here.