Nebraska’s economy is on track for a good second half of the year.

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Earlier this year Nebraska’s economy was somewhat sluggish but new numbers are indicating a positive uptick that is expected to last through the end of the year.

All in all, through the end of May the state’s leading economic indicator was up just over 2-and-a-half percent and that comes despite at least one bump in the road.

And that bump is building permits for single family homes, down across the state by nearly 1 percent (.07%)  in May.

But that’s offset by a slight increase in passenger numbers at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield, up a half percent(.06) in May, indicating people are confident in their jobs and more likely to vacation.

NU economist Eric Thompson says manufacturing hours were up over 1 percent (1.2%) as “Nebraska continues to benefit from strong demand for food products adding it’s “consistent with an expanding national manufacturing industry.

But the single largest economic plus comes from businesses both big and small, that are expecting a nearly 3 percent jump in sales and hirings over the next six months.