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The
Marshfield
area economy stayed the course during first quarter 1993. It seems somewhat
repetitive to say this, but the local and regional economies continue to grow
and expand at moderate rates. Further, a great deal of stability is evident in
most of the major businesses in the area. However, unless the national economy
gathers a head of steam, it is unlikely that the area economy will grow at a
faster pace.
Highlights of the news emanating from this
quarter's economic data include an unemployment rate, which fell to 5.3 percent,
and total employment in the county, which expanded by 3.6 percent. The
Marshfield Employment Index suggests that local payrolls grew by about 2.0
percent. Local merchants are very optimistic about sales prospects and store
traffic. Help wanted advertising increased by about 10 percent from last year.
However, there were a few less positive indicators such as the increase in the
number of new public assistance claims, and a general rise in the unemployment
claim data in a year over comparison.
Wood County industrial sector
employment expanded by 900 positions in a March over comparison,
Table 7. This represents a growth rate of 2.3 percent. All
categories except manufacturing posted solid gains over the past twelve months.
Services, trade, construction, and government added 350, 300, 150, and 100
persons, respectively, to their payrolls over the course of the year, while
manufacturing was unchanged over the same period. The Marshfield Employment
Index estimates that employment in the local area increased by approximately 2.0
percent. Because specific employment statistics are not available on a regular
basis, this index was constructed to provide more detailed information on
employment in the city of Marshfield.
Merchants in the
Marshfield area regained some of their confidence in March 1993 (Table
8). When asked about total sales and store traffic compared to last year,
the responses were uniformly more positive than last quarter. With regard to the
future, this group of merchants says that matters should be markedly better next
quarter when compared to last year at the same time. The early euphoria and
optimism engendered by the new administration probably influenced these results.
It will be interesting to see how this group feels now that the administration
has had several political setbacks.
Help wanted advertising is listed in
Table 9. The CWERB's measure of local labor market
conditions provides good news for the area. Help wanted advertising rose by 10.4
percent from last year. The index actually increased from 125 to 138. The 138
mark means that there are currently 1.4 jobs being advertised for every one job
advertised in 1980. The index for March reached a peak in 1989 at 163 and
dropped to a low of 124 in 1991. The
U.S. help wanted advertising
index rose from 89 to 98, a 10.1 percent increase over the course of the year.
Mixed news comes from public assistance claim
data in Table 10. New applications on a monthly average
basis contracted from 71 to 50, a decline of 29.6 percent from a year ago.
However, the total caseload increased from 789 to 803 or about 2.0 percent on a
monthly average basis when compared to first quarter 1992. As mentioned
previously, public assistance numbers are influenced by a variety of factors,
some of which are best categorized as sociological rather than economic in
nature.
Unemployment claims in Table
11 were substantially higher than last year. New claims rose from 76 to 97,
an increase of 28 percent. Moreover, total claims went from 176 to 199, up 13
percent. Thus, Table 11 shows a net increase in the number of people who have
lost their jobs compared to last year at this time.
Residential construction activity declined from
the brisk pace of last year
(Table
12). This year's figures, while very respectable for the most part, did not
equal last year's. Perhaps the inclement weather, higher lumber prices, and
satiated demand have had a dampening influence. Residential permits issued, the
estimated value of new residential construction, and the number of housing units
were 44, 50, and 44 percent lower, respectively, than last year. On a more
positive note, the number and estimated value of residential alterations were 26
and 38 percent higher than in 1992.
Table 13 displays this
quarter's results for nonresidential construction for the area. 'Ibis volatile
measure can and does fluctuate because of the singular nature of capital
investment. Thus, no ~percentage changes are given for this indicator. Three
permits for new nonresidential construction were issued with an estimated value
of $21 thousand. Further 13 nonresidential alteration permits valued at $10,882
thousand were issued for first quarter 1993. The largest part of this number can
be attributed to expansion at the hospital‑clinic. Traditionally first quarter
is the least active period of the year owing to weather conditions in
Central Wisconsin.
Financial statistics for the area are presented
in Table 14. Bank deposits rose from $217.1 million to
$220.9 million in the sample. This rise of nearly 2.0 percent in deposits comes
in spite of refinancing activity on the part of households, and in the face of a
large shift into mutual funds on a nation‑wide basis. This trend has been widely
discussed in the financial press. Bank lending rose by a substantial amount,
$4.2 million. The expansion in lending represents a robust 2.5 percent growth
rate. Even this number is probably understated due to the sale of mortgages in
the secondary market.
Table 15 and
Table 16 display
Clark County economic data. In
sum, total employment has risen by 4.2 percent over the course of the year.
However, a rapidly expanding labor force caused the unemployment rate to rise to
10.4 percent in March 1993. This information is presented because of the close
economic ties between
Marshfield
and the Clark County area. |
