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The regional economy experienced declining
unemployment rates in each of the three counties surveyed. Moreover, total
employment grew, albeit by a modest rate, one percent, rising from 135.9 to
137.1 thousand over the course of the year. With regard to individual industrial
categories, the increasingly important services sector added over 2000 positions
to bring its employment total to 44,480. Bright news for our area comes from our
key exporting sectors. Industries in this group expanded by about 4.0 percent
with employment rising from 27.9 to 29.0 thousand. The goods and services
produced in this group bring in much needed dollars from outside sources and
help support the region's entire economy. Business executives are optimistic
about the future, especially when asked about recent changes in the national
economy. This also bodes well for our area.
Unemployment rates in the three counties of
Central Wisconsin continue to
trend downward (Table 2). Fourth quarter results show a
sharp decrease in the rates from last year. The seasonally unadjusted
unemployment rates were 4.8, 5.3, and 4.7 percent for Portage, Marathon, and
Wood Counties respectively. For the region, the labor force weighted rate fell
from 5.8 to 5.0 percent over the last twelve months. Likewise, the state and now
even the nation are exhibiting declining unemployment rates.
Employment gains were registered in both
Portage and Marathon Counties,
rising by 3.0 and 1.1 percent
(Table 3).
In contrast, Wood
County's
total employment figure dipped by approximately 500 positions or 1.3 percent.
Overall, Central Wisconsin employers added nearly 1.0 percent more people to
their payrolls compared to fourth quarter 1992. Wisconsin's total employment
grew by about 0.4 percent during the same time period.
Service sector and construction employment were
two categories which grew over the year, Table 4. Services
added approximately 2000 positions for a growth rate of nearly 5.0 percent,
while construction increased by.300 employees or about 7.0 percent.
Manufacturing and government sector employment was, for all intents and
purposes, unchanged from fourth quarter last year. Trade employment increased by
1200 position or 3.9 percent.
Table 5 shows key industry
employment numbers for the region. Lumber and wood products and finance,
insurance, and real estate each added 600 people to local payrolls. This
represents an increase of 10.7 and 9.2 percent respectively. Food processing
employment was unchanged and paper products declined by approximately 100
positions. Overall, these basic industries in
Central Wisconsin grew from
27.9 t 29.0 thousand or by nearly 4.0 percent from last year.
Regional business leaders
surveyed for fourth quarter 1993 indicate that the are generally pleased with
recent economic changes on the national level
(Table 6).
For this region the group is slightly above neutral in their assessment of local
economic conditions. With regard to the future, the group forecasts that
national, local, and industry developments will be positive and help bolster the
local situation. |
