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The Marshfield‑Wood County economy is showing
the influence of the national economic slowdown. The data for
fourth quarter paints a picture of a regional economy that is
facing some difficulty in growing or maintaining previous gains
in employment. Total employment in
Wood County is
off by 1200 jobs, industrial sector employment expanded by only
0.9 percent from a year ago, and the unemployment rate, while
still very low, increased by seven‑tenths of a point. Other
variables in the report would also confirm this assessment of
the local situation. However, the numbers, while not as rosy as
in past periods, are still well above the marks of the 1980's.
In other words, the area has seen much growth over the past
several years and this slowdown has not erased those gains to
any significant degree.
Table 7 presents nonfarm employment data
for the various industrial classifications. Wood County is
feeling the effects of the national economic situation.
Manufacturing, trade, and construction payrolls fell from last
year's levels. But good news comes from the services and
governmental sectors where employment expanded by 1,150 and 200
respectively. The Marshfield employment index contracted by 6
points or by 4.5 percent. The index suggests that local payrolls
have declined over the course of the year.
Local merchants were surveyed in order to gauge
the level of local retail activity and to determine what the
future may hold for the area (Table 8).
When queried about store traffic and sales, the marks of 46 and
54 indicate that local cash registers were about as busy as a
year ago. Further, this group believes that activity will
accelerate once the national economy gets back on course. Thus,
the data in Table 8 lends evidence to the belief that retail
activity during fourth quarter may have been stronger than
expected going in to the Christmas buying season.
Help wanted advertising was well below last
year's total for
Marshfield
(Table
9).
In December of 1990 the index stood at 184, the current level is
a much lower 129. This represents a drop of nearly 30 percent.
The U.S. figure was down by a similar magnitude, 20 percent. The
results for the local area and nation are, of course, related
due to economic inter linkages that exist between the two.
Local family
financial distress is depicted in Table 10
and Table 11. The slowdown nationally is
percolating into the local area. New applications for public
assistance rose from an average of 28 per month to 79, a 182
percent increase from a year ago. Besides the obvious economic
factors contributing to this development, a change in
administrative rules allowing formerly ineligible SSI recipients
to apply for food stamps caused a sharp increase in new
applications for public assistance during fourth quarter. Thus
the surge in new applications may be somewhat misleading. Total
caseload, in comparison, increased by a much smaller 15 percent
rising from a monthly average of 575 cases to 662. Further,
initial unemployment claims on a weekly average basis remained
unchanged from last year, but total claims rose noticeably from
176 to 242 per week.
Generally speaking, residential construction in
the local area was off the pace of last year. But we should
remember that 1990 fourth quarter was a period of robust
activity. Table 12 tells us that the
number of residential permits issued was unchanged from a year
ago, while the estimated value of new homes the number of
housing units, residential alteration permits issued, and the
estimated value of residential alterations were down from 1990's
marks.
As mentioned in previous Economic Indicators,
business spending on capital items is very volatile and quite
singular in nature
(Table
13). Therefore, percentage changes are not given. Even though the numbers
are below last year's figures for fourth quarter, they are well
within established parameters when compared to historic ranges.
Financial
statistics for the
Marshfield
area reflect the slowing in local economic growth
(Table
14).
Bank lending rose by just $3.5 million or 1.6 percent, which is
well below the growth rates established in the 1980's and early
1990's. This indicator is a reflection of local liquidity and
income growth. Bank lending, a gauge of the rate of expansion in
the local economy, was lower than a year ago, falling by about
$3 million or 1.7 percent. In conclusion the financial
statistics for the area indicate that both bank lending and
borrowing failed to keep pace with inflation.
Economic data
for Clark
County
are presented in Table 15 and
Table 16 in recognition of the importance
of Clark County as an important market for Marshfield area
businesses. Overall, economic conditions in
Clark
County
continue to be less robust than in some of the more
industrialized areas in Central Wisconsin. |
