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The economic data for first
quarter 1991 demonstrates that the national recession is being felt here in
Wood
County.
The area‑wide unemployment rate now stands at 5.7 percent, a 0.4 percent
increase over last year. Total employment has contracted by 1000 positions from
March 1990. Further, nonfarm industrial employment grew by a very modest 0.8
percent.
Despite the fact that the county is experiencing
somewhat of a downturn in its economic fortunes, there are many positive pieces
of information to report. For example, even though the unemployment rate has
risen, it still remains at a relatively low level; the
Marshfield employment index
says that the local area had a gain of about 2.0 percent in nonfarm jobs;
retailers indicate that sales and store traffic are higher than last year; and
residential construction is above last year's totals. Thus, while matters could
be better, they could also be much worse as is the case in other parts of the
country.
Unlike the total employment figures, industrial
employment in the
Marshfield area managed to increase by an estimated 1.8 percent (Table
7). For Wood County as a whole this type of employment rose by a scant 0.8
percent or 300 jobs. Manufacturing, trade, and government lost 300, 200, and 100
positions respectively. Only the service and construction sectors exhibited any
vigor by posting gains of 890 and 10. Thus, on a net basis, nonfarm employment
increased from 36,800 to 37,100.
Table 8
gives the impressions of local merchants. When this panel was asked about recent
store activity they responded by staying that store traffic and sales were
better than one year ago at this time. The group is more optimistic than last
quarter when it comes to predicting what store traffic and sales will be in the
future. These responses are similar to national level opinion polls, which also
indicate a rebound in confidence. The ending of the Gulf War has undoubtedly
played a role in these outcomes.
Help wanted advertising fell by approximately 18.9
percent from March of 1990 (Table 9). Likewise, the
national index fell by 32 percent for the same time period. A persistent
decrease in this index signals a softening in the labor market. And as a matter
of record, this has been occurring at the local and national levels.
Mixed signals about the state of the local
economy are displayed in Table 10 and
Table 11. In Table 10, new public assistance claims on a monthly average
basis increased by 11. In contrast the total caseload decreased by an average of
9 per month. The other dimension of local family financial distress is
unemployment claim data which is presented in Table 11. Initial claims on a
weekly average basis declined by 3. In contrast total claims expanded by 33 from
first quarter 1990. It is not unusual for economic data to give mixed signals
because they are measuring different aspects of a very complex situation.
An important indicator of an
area's economic health is residential construction. Table 12
paints a very positive picture for Marshfield when data are compared to a year
ago. All measures of construction are above last year's totals. However, it
should be noted that activity during first quarter of last year was nil in three
categories. Lower interest rates and continued job growth have played a role in
this quarter's tally of events.
Nonresidential construction in
Marshfield was generally lower
than a year ago (Table 13). The CWERB does not give
percentage changes for this type of activity due to its volatile nature. One
large project can greatly influence the reported numbers. However, from a
historic standpoint, the level of activity was somewhat lower than normal for
the first quarter time period.
The CWERB's sample of local financial
institutions is given in Table 14. Bank deposits are now
at $213.9 million, a $7.8 million increase. This expansion represents a 3.8
percent growth rate for deposits. From the standpoint of lending, banks increase
loans by a healthy $14.6 million or 9.2 percent. Both lending and deposit
activity were characteristic of a growing economy.
Table 15
and Table 16 display
Clark
County
economic data for first quarter 1991. This data shows that the agricultural
based Clark County economy is experiencing difficulty. Employment is lower in 4
out of 5 industrial categories. Furthermore, total employment has fallen by
nearly 7 percent from just last year. The result is that the unemployment rate
now stands at 12.6 percent. |
