Which of the following is NOT a leading economic indicator?

The correct choice is identified as liquidity levels not being a leading economic indicator. Leading economic indicators are metrics that tend to change before the economy as a whole changes, providing insights into future economic activity. These indicators generally include factors like employment rates and stock prices, which can signal shifts in economic conditions ahead of time.

Liquidity levels, on the other hand, refer to how easily assets can be converted to cash without significantly affecting their price. While liquidity is crucial for the functioning of financial markets and can indicate the health of those markets, it does not consistently predict the overall direction of the economy in the way that leading indicators do. Therefore, it is not classified as a leading economic indicator.

The other options represent clear leading indicators as they have proven correlations with future economic conditions, thus highlighting the importance of distinguishing various economic metrics based on their predictive capabilities.