The economic data for Wood county and Marshfield can be summarized as follows.  The unemployment rate in the county is well below last year's mark; employment in Wood county is up by approximately 2.4 percent; the Marshfield Employment Index is markedly higher; and retailer confidence has fallen. In addition, Wood county help wanted advertising is higher than a year ago; public assistance and unemployment claim data are generally above last years figures; and construction activity remains remarkably strong in the area.

         Table 7 presents information on the Wood county employment situation.  During the second quarter the manufacturing, trade, and construction sectors contracted.  The decline for each sector is as follows; manufacturing 3.9 percent; trade 1.0 percent; and construction 15.0 percent.  In contrast the services sector, which is the largest provider of jobs to Wood county residents, expanded by nearly 5 percent.  Government employment was stable over the past year.  The CWERB Marshfield Employment Index increased by 1.7 percent in a year over comparison.  This means that Marshfield area employment is estimated to have grown by about 2 percent since second quarter 2001.

         As seen in Table 8, the CWERB survey of local merchants gives a frank assessment of the local retail scene.  This group of merchants believes that total sales are somewhat better than last year while store traffic is at the same level as last year.  This group also feels that future store traffic and sales will only be marginally ahead of last year's pace.  The overall results of the survey suggest that retailers are not quite as optimistic about the future as they were in March of this year.

         The help wanted advertising index for Marshfield (Table 9) is a good barometer of future activity in the local labor market.  After several quarters of decline, the index rose during the second quarter of this year. The index expanded from 135 to 144, a gain of about 7 percent.  This may signal the return of a better labor market for area residents.  Meanwhile the U.S. experienced another decline in its help wanted advertising index.  The national index fell from 60 to 45, resulting in a decline of 25 percent.  This would suggest that hiring activity is not going to accelerate in the near future.

         Public assistance claims in Wood county (Table 10) have increased from a year ago. The total caseload on a monthly average basis rose from 2,813 to 3,232, nearly a 15 percent increase in family financial distress.  Layoffs at several major Wood county employers served to push these numbers upward; an example would be Stora Enso.  Another measure of family financial distress is the unemployment claim data for the county. As seen in Table 11, new unemployment claim data on a weekly average basis have declined from 334 to 254 cases.  This represents some good news for the county.  However, total unemployment claims on a weekly average basis climbed from 1,643 to 1,969, or as increase of nearly 20 percent.  In sum the public assistance claim and unemployment claim data suggests that the problems of several large employers in Wood county are impacting area families.

         Residential construction activity (Table 12) is a bright spot in this quarter's report.  The number of permits issued doubled from a year ago.  Further, the estimated value of these new structures rose by a robust 58.7 percent.  Meanwhile, the number of residential alteration permits climbed by an amazing 225 percent from a year ago.  The actual number of permits rose from 72 to 234.  Also the value of this alteration activity shot upwards by 125.5 percent.  The estimated value of the activity rose from $542.6 thousand in 2001 to $1.22 million in 2002.  Low interest rates and people rebalancing their portfolios to include more real estate help to push the totals upwards.

         Nonresidential construction, as shown in Table 13, is presented without percent changes.  This activity is very volatile and can change dramatically from year to year.  The number of permits issued was 5 with an estimated value of $24.7 million.  Meanwhile the number of alteration permits hit 22 with an estimated value of approximately $3.1 million.

         Clark county economic information is given in Table 14 and Table 15.  The data for Clark should be of interest to Marshfield area businesses.  Some highlights from these tables include: services and construction employment are above last year's marks; that manufacturing has been hard hit by recent economic conditions; that the unemployment rate is well below last year's figure; and the total number of employed remains for all intent and purposes unchanged from a year ago.