The Wausau area continued to grow and prosper during fourth quarter 1988. The last several years have been especially good for the local area and the region. There is substantial evidence to support this claim. Total employment is at an all time high regardless of the reporting period. Moreover, the unemployment rate has continued to plummet. As a matter of fact, the fourth quarter level is the lowest since the early 1970s.

     Virtually all other indicators of performance were positive, once again suggesting a vigorous fourth quarter. The future of the local expansion is bright. Statistics on regional business and retailer sentiment, help wanted advertising, construction, and finance suggest that the local economy has momentum. Furthermore, a positive forecast for the national economy in conjunction with local variables should mean continued growth in the months ahead.

     A very important indicator of economic activity is employment. Table 7 contains positive news for the Wausau area. All sectors except trade posted gains from last year. Manufacturing led the parade with a gain of 900. This sector has been a continual source of strength for the local area. The figure for fourth quarter represents an all-time high. Record levels of employment also were obtained in the service and construction sectors; 500 and 100 more jobs respectively. In sum, nonfarm employment expanded by a very healthy 3.2 percent or 1500 positions.

     In order to gain insight into retail sector activity, local merchants are interviewed. The fortunes of the retail sector are reflective of overall economic conditions. The December survey, reported in Table 8, reveals an optimistic appraisal of the situation. Total sales and store traffic were higher than the year before, an indication of expansion. With regard to the future, our panel felt that matters would improve substantially. This bodes well for the Marathon County economy.

     Another method of evaluating the future prospects of an area is to examine help wanted advertising. Put simply, advertised employment will eventually translate into real employment growth and more income for the area. Table 9 shows that two and a half jobs were being advertised in fourth quarter 1988 for everyone position advertised in 1980. Moreover, there has been a 33.1 percent jump in this indicator since last year. This dramatic upward trend produced a record high level for December. Needless to say, this is a very positive development for Wausau-Marathon County. ""

     Table 10 and Table 11 give information on family financial distress. Together they provide additional and valuable clues about local conditions, because some individuals, for a variety of reasons, do still experience hardships even when the remainder of the economy is prospering. Public assistance claims are much lower than a year ago. The dramatic decrease in new applications and total caseload can be attributed to an expanding local economy and to a more concentrated effort on the few remaining cases.

     The data presented in Table 11 are in contrast with public assistance figures in Table 10. The numbers of initial and total unemployment claims were higher than a year ago. These negative results coincide with trends in the region and the nation.

     Residential construction activity is a precursor for broader economic advancement. Therefore, an inspection of this data is useful for its predictive properties. Table 12 shows that despite higher interest rates there has been a great deal of activity. This is especially true for alteration work on existing structures. Moreover, the residential construction scene was fairly active across all categories and compares favorably to historic norms.

     In addition to residential construction, another important measure of building activity is business construction. (Table 13.) The numbers for fourth quarter 1988 were encouraging. A surge in the number of permits issued and their estimated values suggests continued expansion in the local economy. During fourth quarter 24 permits were issued, an all time high number for this time period.

     Financial statistics for Wausau are given in Table 14. Bank deposit data is useful because it gives a measure of local liquidity and purchasing power. The data indicate a 3.3 percent or $19.4 million gain in local deposits. Another important piece of financial data are bank loans. Lending activity was substantially higher in fourth quarter 1988. The $54.1 million expansion in lending from last year pushed the total to a record high, regardless of the time of year. This very strong evidence suggests that the economy continued to be in an expansive mode.