An early winter slowed the Stevens Point area economy during the fourth quarter but the level of activity remains slightly above the pace of a year ago. Evidence of the local economy's performance is contained in Tables 7-13. These tables are based on information reflecting the area's labor, construction and financial markets.

     The estimate of non-farm wage and salary employment in Portage County indicates there were 700 more jobs this past December than during the same period last year. Most of this gain is reported to have occurred in the manufacturing sector (Table 7). However, just as in the third quarter, large gains (on a year-to-year basis) showed up in the food processing industry. Further investigation by the bureau has failed to substantiate these figures. The Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations is very likely to revise the food processing employment estimates downward during its annual re-bench marking procedure this spring. The net effect of this revision will be a reduction in this quarter's unexpectedly large 18.2% increase in manufacturing payrolls. However, gains in other Portage County manufacturing industries are almost certain to stand up in the revised estimates. In the past year payrolls have expanded in the following industries: furniture and fixtures, fabricated metal products, nonelectrical machinery, paper products and printing.

     The government and construction sectors also reported gains over last December. Record enrollment at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point pushed government employ­ment up 5.3% while the volatile construction sector showed surprising strength. This gain is somewhat illusory because a November to November comparison actually shows a slightly lower level of construction employment in 1985.

      Continuing a trend begun in the third quarter, the area's large service and trade sectors reduced payrolls. Depressed by job losses in the transportation service industry, total services employment slipped 1.6%. The positive impact of the CenterPoint Mall has yet to influence the trade employment figures as evidenced by last quarter's 8.0% drop from a year ago.

      The help wanted advertising index for the Stevens Point area inched above the Decem­ber 1984 level (Table 8). The rate of improvement is very similar to that recorded by the nation. Help wanted advertising remains below the December 1980 base year level.

     For the second consecutive quarter, public assistance claims processed at the Stevens Point office rose significantly (Table 9). This finding suggests that despite a falling county unemployment rate, there is a growing number of financially stressed families in the area.

     Initial unemployment claims rose sharply over the third quarter level (Table 10). This is a seasonal pattern due to winter layoffs in the food processing and construction industries. The number of claims is actually down slightly (5.9%) from the fourth quarter 1984 level.

      After showing a strong year-to-year gain in the third quarter, residential construction was slowed by 1985's severe fourth quarter weather (Table 11). The number of residen­tial permits and housing units dropped slightly from last year's level, although the value of new homes crept up. The weather-induced slowdown is probably temporary. Lower mort­gage rates are likely to improve seasonally adjusted conditions during the first half of 1986.

Stevens Point
(December)
(1980 = 100)

U.S.
(November)
(1967 = 100)