From third to fourth quarter, the WSU Leading Economic Indicators Index increased 0.5 percent. From 2010 to 2011, the annual average Index value increased 9.3 percent. All of the Index indicators showed improvement from year to year, except the value of residential and nonresidential building permits, which declined 5.1 percent and 3.4 percent respectively. Growth in the Index slowed somewhat during the second half of 2011, indicating that 2012 may not start out with the same level of strength experienced in the first half of 2011.