The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the United States increased 0.4 percent in May, following no change in April, and a 1.4 percent rise in March. “The index points to continued, though slower, U.S. growth for the rest of this year,” says Bart van Ark, chief economist of The Conference Board. “Public debt and deficits weigh heavily on growth prospects on both sides of the Atlantic. We project a serious slowdown in European growth in 2011, which could further weaken the U.S. outlook.”

“The LEI for the United States has been rising since April 2009, and though its growth rate has slowed in 2010, it is well above its most recent peak in December 2006,” says Ataman Ozyildirim, economist at The Conference Board. “Correspondingly, current economic conditions, as measured by The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for the United States, have been improving steadily since November 2009, thanks to gains in payroll employment and industrial production.”

The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for the United States rose 0.4 percent in May, following a 0.4 percent increase in April, and a 0.3 percent increase in March. The Conference Board Lagging Economic Index® (LAG) for the United States decreased 0.1 percent in May, following no change in April, and a 0.2 percent decrease in March.

The leading economic index is 12.0 percent above its most recent trough of March 2009 and it is 4.6 percent above its most recent peak in December 2006. The coincident economic index is 2.0 percent above its most recent trough in June 2009, but it is still 5.4 percent below its most recent peak of December 2007.