The Stevens Point/Plover area economy continued to grow and expand over the course of the year. The number of people employed is up and the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate is approximately the same as last year's level. Further residential construction has maintained the brisk pace established over the past several years.
 

     However, there are areas of concern for us locally because public assistance claims have increased over the years despite the area's economic success. Further, financial statistics are lagging and this is not what a truly robust economy should be experiencing. Finally, the agricultural sector continues to strain under the current milk price structure. Employment decline. in this sector over the next decade is almost certain given the financial pressures facing family farms. One third of Wisconsin's dairy farms will go out of business over the course of the next decade according to agricultural economists.
 

     Table 7 presents employment growth for the major Portage County industrial classifications. The results for this quarter are very positive. Each and every category of employment was above last year's levels. Manufacturing, services, trade, construction, and government posted gains of 600, 190, 300, 60, and 100 respectively. Overall, the number of nonfarm employees rose by 1250 from 27,710 to 28,960, or a healthy 4.5 percent This is, of course, very good news for the local population.

     The retailer confidence survey for the Stevens Point/Plover area indicates that local merchants perceive that store traffic and sales were ahead of last year's pace for first quarter (Table 8). The results in each category are as high as ever recorded for this index at this time of year. Remember, though, that this comparison is with first quarter of 1991, a weaker than normal period of time. With regard to the future, the panel of local merchants was reasonably optimistic about conditions three months from now.
 

     One of the few pieces of data not improved from last year is the help wanted advertising index. Table 9 shows that advertising by employers is down to a level not seen since March 1988. The reading of 124 represents a decline of approximately 30.1 percent from 1991. The national index fell to 89, a drop of about 7.2 percent. Thus, this barometer of local labor market conditions has declined three out of the last four quarters.
 

     Public assistance and unemployment claim data in Table 10 and Table 11 give insight into local family financial distress. New public assistance claims rose from 168 to 192 on a monthly average basis. Similarly, the total caseload expanded from an average of 1410 to 1880 per month over the course of the past year. However, some recent government rule changes have made more people eligible for certain income maintenance benefits, and may be adding to the number of claims. As sometimes happens, the unemployment claim data moved in the opposite direction. New unemployment claims dropped from a weekly average of 68 to 64 and total claims fell slightly from 140 to 139 per week.
 

     Residential construction continues to boom after several robust years
(Table 12). Every category is ahead of last year's already brisk pace. Residential permits issued and the estimated value of new residential construction grew by 50 percent and 32 percent respectively. The number of housing units expanded by a whopping 8.1 percent from last year. Residential alteration permits issued and the estimated value of residential alterations climbed by 10 percent and 62 percent from 1991 levels. A healthy local economy and low interest rates have had a significant and positive influence on the local construction scene.
 

     Table 13 displays nonresidential construction activity in the local area. The dollar value of local activity was generally lower than one year ago, however, permit activity was higher. The percentage changes as usual are not given due to the singular and volatile nature of this kind of business capital investment.
 

     Financial statistics for the area indicate that bank deposits grew by 1.6 percent or $5.2 million, and bank lending increased by 1.4 percent or $3.3 million dollars (Table 14). Neither category kept pace with inflation, which means that real or inflation adjusted deposits and lending fell over the course of the year. Both measures reported in Table 14 give important insight into the local situation because they act as a proxy for local income and economic conditions.