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The
Central Wisconsin economy
continued to do well even though there were a few signs of a pause in 4th
quarter 1992. For example, the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate, while
still at a very respectable 5.7 percent, was up from last year's 5.0 percent
mark. Another indication of some inertia in the area economy was reflected in
industrial sector employment, which remained unchanged at 126.4 thousand over
the course of the year. Given the problems the national economy is having
generating job growth, this stability is not all bad. However, better news
concerning the region comes from the total employment figures for Central
Wisconsin. Total employment grew by almost 2.0 percent, or 2400 positions. More
encouraging information comes from key sector employment where 600 people were
added to area payrolls for a gain of about 2.1 percent. Lastly, business
executives remain optimistic and upbeat with regard to the future of the area
economy.
Portage, Marathon, and Wood
Counties all experienced an increase in their employment numbers from a year ago
(Table 3). The counties grew by 500, 800, and 1100
positions respectively. There are now 33.8, 62.7, and 40.7 thousand people on
the payrolls of Portage,
Marathon, and Wood Counties. The state added a very impressive 105,000 jobs for
a 4.3 percent growth rate.
Seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates climbed
in each Central
Wisconsin county when compared to last year, Table 2. The
unemployment rates were 6.1 percent for Portage County, 5.8 percent for Marathon
County, and 5.3 percent for Wood County. For Central Wisconsin, as a region, the
rate rose from 5.0 to 5.7 percent. In contrast, the
Wisconsin state unemployment rate fell from 5.0 to 4.3 percent,
but the U.S.
unemployment rate inched higher over the same period and now stands at 7.0
percent.
For the first time since the early 1980's,
Central Wisconsin
industrial sector employment did not exceed the previous year's level
(Table 4).
As a matter of record, employment in these classifications remained at a stable
126.4 thousand from December 1991 to December 1992. Clearly the slow job market
situation nationally is also evident here in Central Wisconsin. The good news is
that manufacturing grew by about 1500 positions, and government by about 100.
However, services, trade, and construction were all off last year's pace. This
was particularly noticeable in construction where employment contracted by 1000
from a year ago. The completion of several major construction projects
throughout the region during the past year may explain this drop.
Table 5 presents the
employment situation in key
Central Wisconsin industries.
Overall, this group of exporting industries expanded by 600 positions or 2.1
percent. This is a good sign for the local area since these firms represent the
foundation of our regional economy. Paper products and lumber and wood products
gained 600 and 300 people respectively producing growth rates of 6.1 and 5.8
percent. Food processing was fairly stable over the year, but nonetheless
declined by an estimated 100 jobs. Finance, insurance, and real estate
employment was also lower by about 200 positions. However, there are still
nearly 30,000 people employed in these four important categories.
The opinions of the CWERB's
panel of regional business executives are presented in Table 6.
With regard to recent economic changes, they believe that the national and local
situations have improved, the former more so than the latter. For the future,
our panel expects the national and regional economies as well as their
particular industries to continue to improve. Generally speaking, this group is
more optimistic than three months ago. |
