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A summary of first quarter 1991 indicates that
the three county area tended to perform better than the nation and the state in
many important areas. Examples include the unemployment rate for the region,
stability in total employment, nonfarm employment, and key industry performance.
Since the recession at the
national level is not over and as of the time of this report shows no signs of
abating, it would be foolhardy to claim that our area is immune to its effects,
the numbers argue otherwise. However, as previously mentioned, this area is in
much better shape to handle the situation than ten years ago. The data so far
suggest that this is indeed the case for Central Wisconsin. Relative to other
hard hit areas of the country, the recession has almost been a nonevent with
only a slight hint of a slowdown being indicated in the employment statistics.
The unemployment picture in
Central Wisconsin
remains brighter than the state and the nation (Table 2).
The preliminary unemployment rate increased by 1.4 percent in Marathon County,
0.1 percent in Portage County, and .4 percent in Wood County. For Central
Wisconsin the weighted average unemployment rate rose from 5.2 percent to 6.0
percent. This compares to a first quarter rate of 6.7 percent for
Wisconsin
and 7.1 percent for the nation. Usually economists hold the position that an
unemployment rate of approximately 6.0 percent represents full employment. Thus,
the area continues to hold its own during the recession.
Table 3 presents another
dimension of the economy, the employment situation. Here we see that
Portage County is estimated to
have increased its total employment by 8.7 percent.
Marathon and
Wood Counties, on the other hand, are estimated to have lost 1.8 percent and 2.8
percent of their employment from last year. For Central Wisconsin as a whole,
the area maintained its position when compared to last year, with a slight .4
percent increase. The effects of the recession are more evident at the state
level where the employment number fell by 2.2 percent. All things considered,
the region continues to do quite well.
Nonfarm employment is depicted in
Table 4. Manufacturing and construction payrolls were
lower than one year ago while trade remains unchanged. Service and government
employment posted increases from last year. Overall nonfarm employment was
approximately 1600 positions above last year's mark or a 1.3 percent increase.
The increase in government employment may be inflated somewhat due to inclusion
of work study students in the
Portage County numbers. But
regardless of a possible downward adjustment in this number, the economically
integrated Central Wisconsin Region appears to remain healthy.
Employment in Central
Wisconsin's key industries followed a pattern similar to that of nonfarm
employment, Table 5. Overall these foundation industries
added a respectable 400 positions or an 1.5 percent increase from last year.
Thus, a great deal of stability was exhibited in these vitally important
sectors. Further, paper products and finance, insurance, and real estate posted
increases of 300 and 500 respectively. It should be noted that total paper
products industry employment reached an all‑time high for the time of year. In
contrast, lumber and wood product employment was off by about 300 positions from
last year. The decrease in food processing is in part due to an unexplained drop
of 100 jobs in Wood County. This will warrant further investigation.
The CWERB survey of regional
business leaders suggests that economic matters at the regional level are
somewhat softer than a year ago and there is a definite consensus among the
participants that the national economy is performing worse that twelve months
ago (Table 6). With the ending of the Gulf War, national
opinion polls reflected a sharp upswing in the mood of the American consumer.
Our poll shows a very dramatic turn around in sentiment when compared to last
quarter's results. The panel believes that national, local, and industry
conditions will improve in the months ahead. |
