Omaha, Neb. ? Even the number of jobs grew in a fourth straight month of expansion in the Midwest manufacturing sector, according to a survey of companies released Monday.

The overall index in the Mid-America Business Conditions Survey was 54.5 in January, up from December’s 52.5, Creighton University economics professor Ernie Goss said.

It was the highest reading for the region since June when economic conditions began to deteriorate, Goss said.

And for the first time since July, the new jobs index rose above 50, with an index of 51.9, Goss said.

Indexes below 50 indicate a contracting economy and numbers above 50 indicate expansion.

“While the region lost a significant number of jobs in the latter half of 2002, I expect the employment picture to improve in the months to come,” Goss said.

Goss conducts the monthly survey in Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.

Rising energy prices pushed the January prices-paid index to 60.2 from December’s 52.3, but unless the price of oil approaches $40 per barrel, that should not threaten the economic recovery, Goss said.

January’s import index of 53.3 was a surprise because recent weakness in the value of the dollar could have driven the import index below 50, he said.