Posted at: 11/02/2009 8:18 AM

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Survey: Midwest Holiday Sales Slump Expected

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A survey of business leaders and managers in nine Midwest and Plains states suggests holiday shoppers could be in a bah-humbug kind of mood this year.

Supply managers surveyed in the Business Conditions Index for the Mid-America region expect holiday sales to decline by 1.6 percent from last year.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the monthly survey. He says a normal holiday season would see a 6 percent growth in sales.

The results are in line with other economists' predictions of a ho-hum holiday shopping season during a sluggish economic recovery.

The Mid-America survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)