A summary of the Central Wisconsin section of the report follows.  The unemployment rates for Wood County, the state of Wisconsin, and the nation rose over the course of the year.  However, the rates in Portage County and Marathon County fell over the past twelve months.  Likewise total employment was generally higher except for Wood County and Wisconsin.  Industrial sector employment rose from 153.7 to 157.3 thousand over the past twelve months and county sales tax collections were mixed.  Lastly, business confidence in Central Wisconsin fell because of recent changes in economic conditions, but confidence in future activity levels rebounded.

     The unemployment rates in Wood County and the state of Wisconsin rose from December 2006 to December 2007 (Table 2).  Wood’s unemployment rate inched upward from 4.8 to 4.9 percent, and Wisconsin’s unemployment rate expanded from 4.5 to 4.6 percent.  The unemployment rate of the United States climbed dramatically from 4.3 to 4.8 percent.  Better news comes from Portage and Marathon counties.  The unemployment rates in these areas fell to 3.9 percent.  Because of this the labor force weighted unemployment rate in Central Wisconsin declined from 4.3 to 4.1 percent from year end 2006 to year end 2007.

     The state’s survey of households reveals that Wood County and Wisconsin saw employment levels contract from a year ago (Table 3).  Wood County employment declined by 2.1 percent and Wisconsin’s employment fell by 0.4 percent.  Employment did grow in Portage and Marathon counties by 2.9 and 0.3 percent respectively.

     Central Wisconsin’s industrial sector employment is estimated by the state through the use of payroll data.  The total employment figure rose for the three county area from 153.7 to 157.3 thousand, or 2.3 percent (Table 4).  The only sectors not reporting an increase were manufacturing down 4.1 percent, transportation & utilities down 1.1 percent, and government down 6.2 percent.  The other six sectors that comprise the table all registered increases. 

     County sales tax collections are posted in Table 5.  Portage and Marathon counties’ sales tax collections reportedly fell by 2.7 and 3.7 percent from last year’s figures.  Surprisingly Wood County sales tax collections rose by 13.9 percent.  This seems a bit strange given the declining employment figures. 

     Each and every quarter the CWERB interviews area business executives about the state of the economy( (Table 6).  This group felt the national economic conditions had greatly deteriorated by December 2007.  Local economic conditions were thought to be a bit softer in December compared to September.  This group, however, was decidedly more upbeat about the future.  When asked to forecast conditions for the next quarter, they felt national economic conditions would improve and likewise for the local economy.  They were the most optimistic in terms of appraising their own industry.  The survey indicated a modest improvement will take place in their industry. 

     Figures 1 thru 6 give an overview of Wisconsin’s economic performance (Figure 1).  The figures give the reader a historical picture of how major economic variables have trended in the state.     

3.9%

-2.6

3.9%

4.8%

4.3%

+12.7

40.1

41.3

+2.9

72.6

72.7

+0.1

39.5

38.7

-2.1

152.2

152.6

+0.3

2,958.7

2,946.7

-0.4

146,080 

146,334

+0.2

September 2007

42

37

53