The economic data for Second Quarter 2000 are indicative of a healthy economy.  Almost every measure of economic performance was stronger than last year.  Thus, the local economy appears to have had a very good period of expansion.  This trend is likely to continue for the rest of the year.

     Industrial sector employment in Marathon County rose by approximately 3.1 percent (Table 7).  This represents a healthy amount of employment growth for area business.  Services and trade were the big gainers during Second Quarter, adding 8.1 and 6.5 percent respectively.  Manufacturing payrolls remained stable at 19.5 thousand jobs.  Construction activity was down by about 200 positions and likewise government payrolls contracted by an estimated 100 positions.

     Retailer sentiment about the local economy remains very robust (Table 8).  Our panel of merchants feels that store traffic and sales are markedly better than one year ago.  Moreover, they remain quite optimistic with regard to future sales and store traffic.  Hence the retail scene in Wausau remains a bright spot in the local economy.

     Help wanted advertising contracted from the level established one year ago.  The index stood at 186 in June 1999 compared to 145 in June 2000 (Table 9).  The mark of 145 indicates there are about 1.5 jobs being advertised for every position in the base year of 1980.  Thus, while the index is still at an elevated level it may also indicate a slight cooling of the labor market.  Only time will answer this question.

     Unemployment claims in the Wausau area are presented in Table 10.  New claims on a weekly average basis fell from 232 to 228 or 1.7 percent.  Furthermore, the total number of claims contracted from 1,569 to 1,261 or by an impressive 19.6 percent since last year.  In sum, both figures, new and total claims, indicate that the local economy is on firm ground.

     Residential construction in the greater Wausau area was generally lower this year compared to last (Table 11).  Higher interest rates have undoubtedly played a role in this development.  Residential permits issued declined by 12.4 percent.  The associated value of the construction was 3.7 percent lower than a year ago.  Moreover, the number of housing permits declined by about 7.3 percent.  A slight increase in the number of residential alteration permits issued occurred.  However, the estimated value of the activity fell by approximately 2.7 percent from last year.

     Nonresidential construction is presented without percentage change (Table 12).  This is a volatile activity which experiences huge year to year swings in activity.  The number of permits issued was 13 and they had an estimated value of $4.3 million.  The number of business alteration permits was 58 and the dollar amount associated with this activity reached $8.4 million.

     Financial statistics for Wausau show that bank deposits rose from $2.07 billion to $2.15 billion over the past twelve months, for a gain of about 4.0 percent
(Table 13).  Likewise, bank lending increased from $1.75 billion to $1.92 billion or 9.7 percent in the year over comparison.  Both statistics, deposits and loans, demonstrate the vitality of the local economy.