The first Quarter 1995 was very good in terms of the area's economic performance. The unemployment rate declined by .7 of a percent and now stands at just 6.0 percent. Employment in Wood County advanced by nearly 2.0 percent since last year and industrial sector employment grew by an even more brisk 2.9 percent over the same time period. 

     Help wanted advertising continues to move sharply upward and the Marshfield employment index suggests the local area and state did well over the year. Unemployment claim data were sharply lower for this go around falling by 57.4 and 33.2 percent. Surprisingly residential construction activity was more brisk than last year even though interest has risen. On a more negative note the antitrust judgment rendered against the Marshfield Clinic represents bad news for the community's major employer. The financial health of the medical institution while not in doubt has been hindered by this situation. 

     Wood County's industrial sector employment expanded by 1,140 positions since last year at this time (Table 7). This 2.9 percent increase in jobs resulted from the growth in manufacturing, services, and trade sectors. Respectively these areas grew by 250, 1,030, and 60 jobs. However, the construction and government parts of the local economy declined by 30 and 170 people. The CWERB employment index for Marshfield estimates that local area employment advanced by 4.9 percent since March 1994. 

     Table 8 displays Marshfield area retailer confidence results for First Quarter 1995. Our panel feels that store sales were only slightly better than a year ago, but store traffic in their estimation was actually lower than in the previous year. When we asked them to turn their attention to the future they said that store traffic and sales in the Second Quarter would be moderately better than what was experienced in 1994. 

     Table 9 shows help wanted advertising for the area. Quarters of the recent past have indicated a dramatic rise in help wanted advertising index, that is also true for First Quarter 1995. The index advanced from 165 to 205 or 24 percent from last year. This surge in advertising reflects not only the health of the Marshfield‑Wood County economy but also that of the state because of non‑local job advertisement. To interpret the mark of 205 one must remember the index stood at 100 in the base year. Simply stated there are now 2 positions being advertised for every one position in the base period. 

     Table 10 shows unemployment claim data for Marshfield over the past six years. Total claims peaked on a seasonally adjusted or moving average basis in early 1992 and has been trending downward ever since. Table 11 presents this quarter's results for unemployment claim activity. New claims on a seasonally unadjusted basis fell from 129 to 55 on a weekly average. Further, total claims on a weekly average seasonally unadjusted basis retreated by approximately 33 percent. 

     Residential construction in Marshfield for First Quarter was very strong even in light of higher interest rates this year (Table 12). Every category of building activity was ahead of last years pace. Residential permits issued, their estimated value, the number of housing units, were higher by 60, 39, and 33 percent respectively. Alteration activity was also above that of last year. The number of permits issued was 36 with an estimated value of $214 thousand. 

     Business and public investment in structures is given in Table 13. The nonresidential construction activity summary is as follows. The number of permits issued was 2 with an estimated value of $605 thousand. Alteration activity generated 13 new permits with an estimated value of $418 thousand. As usual no percentage changes are given due to the volatile nature of these sectors. 

     Financial statistics are presented in Table 14. Bank deposits contracted by approximately 5 percent from last year, failing from $238.8 to $226.8 million in a year over comparison. Lending on the part of area institutions edged forward by $4 million or 2.2 percent since March 1994. 

     Clark County economic data are presented in Table 15 and Table 16. The data are provided because Clark County represents an important market area for Marshfield businesses.