Friday, April 3, 2026

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. Increased in April

Thu, 20 May 2021  |  economy 

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. increased by 1.6 percent in April to 113.3 (2016 = 100), following a 1.3 percent increase in March and a 0.1 percent decline in February.

"With April's large monthly gain to start the second quarter, the U.S. LEI has now recovered fully from its COVID-19 contraction—surpassing the index's previous peak, reached at the very onset of the global pandemic in January 2020," said Ataman Ozyildirim, Senior Director of Economic Research at The Conference Board. "While employment and production have not recovered to their pre-pandemic levels yet, the U.S. LEI suggests the economy's upward trend should continue and growth may even accelerate in the near term. The Conference Board now forecasts real GDP could grow around 8 to 9 percent (annualized) in the second quarter, with year-over-year economic growth reaching 6.4 percent for 2021."

The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for the U.S. increased by 0.3 percent in April to 104.1 (2016 = 100), following a 0.9 percent increase in March and a 0.7 percent decrease in February.

The Conference Board Lagging Economic Index® (LAG) for the U.S. increased by 1.8 percent in April to 104.7 (2016 = 100), following a 3.7 percent decrease in March and 2.5 percent increase in February.

Source: The Conference Board