The Stevens Point area economy expanded at a good pace during first quarter 1993. Positive indicators include a falling seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate, a respectable increase in total and industrial sector employment, an improvement in help wanted advertising, a decline in public assistance, brisk residential construction, and a sharp increase in bank lending. Taken together, these economic indicators support the conclusion that the local area economy remains healthy and should continue to be so in the foreseeable future. However, there were a few areas of concern including retail activity, judged by merchants to be flat when compared to last year; slightly higher unemployment claim data; and, as always, concern about the quality of jobs being created ‑ i.e. part time vs. full time, and high‑paying vs. low‑paying jobs. 

     Portage County industrial sector employment grew by a respectable 740 positions from last year resulting in an increase of 2.6 percent (Table 7). Industrial sector employment rose from 28,660 to 29,400 over the past twelve months. Strength was displayed in the services, trade, and construction sectors. Each and every one of these sectors posted respectable gains. However, manufacturing employment fell by 200 and government payrolls remained unchanged from March 1992. 

     The CWERB's survey of local merchants gives us valuable insight into the important retail sector (Table 8). For this quarter, merchants in the Portage County area indicate that store traffic and sales were at approximately the same level or perhaps somewhat lower than last year. Thus, retailers do not perceive that there has been much real growth in store activity. However, when asked about the future, they were mildly optimistic and more upbeat than in December. 

     The CWERB's measure of local labor market conditions is presented in Table 9. Help wanted advertising rose by 4.8 percent from last year. The index actually increased from 124 to 130. The 130 mark means there are currently 1.3 jobs being advertised for every one job advertised in 1980. The index for March reached a peak in 1991 at 179 and dropped to 124 in 1992. The U.S. help wanted advertising index rose from 89 to 98, a 5.6 percent increase over the course of the year. 

     Good news comes from the public assistance claim data in Table 10. Both new applications and total caseload fell from a year ago. New applications contracted from 192 to 175, a decline of 8.9 percent. A much more modest improvement was registered for the total caseload. It fell from 1880 to 1865 or about 1 percent. 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 were marginally higher than last year (Table 11). New claims rose from 64 to 68, an increase of 5.5 percent. Moreover, total claims went from 139 to 166, up 19.1 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, after many years of first quarter expansion, declined from the record totals established last year (Table 12). This does not mean that activity has not been brisk, it has, but it is difficult, if not impossible, to exceed the previous year's totals each and every time. This year's figures, while very respectable, did not equal last year's very high marks. Perhaps the inclement weather and slackening demand have had a dampening influence. Residential permits issued, the estimated value of new residential construction, the number of housing units, and the estimated value of residential alteration permits were 15, 17, 33, and 16 percent lower, respectively, than last year. 

     Table 13 displays this quarter's results for nonresidential construction for the area. This volatile measure can and does fluctuate because of the singular nature of capital investment. Thus, no percentage changes are given for this indicator. Two permits for new nonresidential construction were issued with an estimated value of $130 thousand. Further, 45 nonresidential alteration permits valued at $556 thousand were issued for first quarter 1993. Traditionally first quarter is the least active period of the year owing to weather conditions. 

     Financial statistics for the area are presented in Table 14. Bank deposits fell from $321.4 million to $313.7 million in the sample. This decline of 2.4 percent in deposits may be due to refinancing activity on the part of households or attributable in part to a large shift into mutual funds. This national trend has been widely discussed in the financial press. Bank lending rose by a very substantial amount, nearly $12 million. This expansion in lending represents a robust 5 percent growth rate. Even this number is probably understated due to the sale of mortgages by banks in the secondary market.