Experts are becoming increasingly convinced that slow growth and government efforts to reduce the value of the dollar in international exchange markets will force interest rates down further. This will allow the economy to continue expanding at a moderate pace. How­ever, with the saving rate likely to return to more normal levels and an increasingly restric­tive fiscal policy, continuation of the economic expansion will become increasingly prob­lematic in 1986.

     After adjusting for seasonal factors, the Central Wisconsin economy is likely to continue growing. Gains in manufacturing employment recorded during the second and third quarters should filter into the service and trade sectors during the fourth quarter. This process will be enhanced by the opening of Stevens Point's CenterPoint Mall. Employment gains will be restricted in the region by layoffs at Wausau's Zimpro Corporation and Stevens Point's Soo Line.