The third quarter performance of the Marshfield area economy is improved over that of second quarter. Evidence suggests that the third quarter of 1986 was a period of steady growth. The area experienced increases in total and nonfarm employment. The unemployment rate rose from that of last year, but this was due to a fast growing labor force rather than from decreasing job opportunities. The employment index for Marshfield suggests that a healthy 5.5% in nonfarm employment took place in the city area. Retailers remain confident about present and future levels of sales and store traffic. The demand for labor in the local area is up by approximately 40% over last year. Thus, there is additional evidence of continued improvement. Public assistance and unemployment claims are down from last year, signaling that local economic conditions are stronger. Construction, while not as robust as last year, continues at respectable levels. Finally, financial statistics for the area imply that local personal income has grown since last year.

     Table 7 focuses on Wood County employment by industry sector. The employment picture is bright when contrasted with a year ago. All nonagricultural sectors in Wood County displayed strength except for government employment. Specifically, manufacturing experienced a 2.2% job growth; services posted a healthy 3.3% increase; and trade performed well compared to last year, showing a 13.7% rise in employment. Also, construction employment expanded by approximately 14.0%. Thus, total nonfarm employment increased by about 1700 positions when contrasted with last year.

     One way to approximate the share of county-wide employment that is attributable to Marshfield is to use an employment index. The index, which uses 1980 Census data, shows that Marshfield has experienced improvement in employment of approximately 5.5% from last year. In other words, job market conditions in Marshfield are substantially better than twelve months ago.

     Table 8 displays the retailer confidence index for Marshfield. The survey of 25 Marshfield retailers reveals that total sales and store traffic are noticeably better than last year. Furthermore, expected sales and store traffic are forecasted to be somewhat better than a year ago. When the responses are compared to the second quarter 1986 levels, approximately the same degree of optimism is expressed.

     The help wanted advertising index for Marshfield is a proxy for determining labor demand conditions. The index forecasts an expanding level of employment in the area, i.e. it is 53 points higher than September 1985. This means that job openings have increased by approximately 42% from a year ago. Thus it can be expected that local payrolls will increase in the upcoming quarters.

     Public assistance claims are given in Table 10. This is a measure of family financial distress. Total caseload remains virtually unchanged from last year. New applications also have remained at about the same level. These indicators show that the level of family financial hardship has not risen since September 1985.

     More good news is presented in Table 11. The number of initial unemployment claims in the five county area is down by 3.3% from last year, and the total number of unemployment claims has decreased by 18.8%. These results provide evidence that local economic conditions have improved since last year. Given the fact that total employment and the labor force is growing, it is unlikely that these decreases are the result of the unemployed leaving the region to seek jobs elsewhere.