Table 7 Table 8 Table 9 Table 10 Table 11 Table 12 Table 13 Table 14

     The Wausau area economy experienced a slight decline in its unemployment rate and a substantial increase in the total number of jobs over the course of the year. Another positive indicator for the local area was the results obtained from the survey of area merchants. In contrast, however, help wanted advertising fell by a considerable margin. 

     Most indicators were generally better than a year ago. For example, unemployment claims and constriction activity were at higher levels in First Quarter than a year ago. In sum, the Wausau area economy has not, as of yet, experienced a slowing in activity which has been forecasted for the state as a whole. 

     Marathon county industrial sector employment increased from 59.9 thousand to 81.8 thousand or by 2.8 percent since First Quarter 1995 (Table 7). The manufacturing and trade sectors of the local economy each added 500 jobs. Further, services and government sector employment gained 300 jobs a piece. Construction meanwhile added only 100 positions, but this represents a 5.0 percent increase for this sector of the economy. 

     Retailer confidence remains at elevated levels. Our panel of local merchants say that store traffic and sales are markedly higher than last year (Table 8). Further, this group expects sales and store traffic to be well ahead of the pace of last year. Since about 1994 the level of optimism associated with future activity has plateaued at about 73. Thus, while the index may rot be rising, the level of optimism being expressed remains impressive. 

     Help wanted advertising took a huge tumble from last year (Table 9). The drop from 258 to 141, or 115 points represents a 44.9 percent reduction in the amount of job advertising. This Is a possible sign that job expansion will be slowing. Please note many firms located outside of the local area have been advertising in Marathon county in search of skilled workers. Thus, to some extent, the index also gives indication of the nature of the labor market for Wisconsin. Further, the U.S. index fail from 134 to 82, or by 83 percent over the same period. 

     Public assistance claims in Wausau have declined dramatically over the past twelve months (Table 10). However, as of January 1996, the state of Wisconsin no longer made it mandatory for counties to fund general assistance, some counties have excluded it completely. Wausau still funds general relief but has cut down on the funding. Persons are only eligible for funding for only one month in a twelve-month period. This factor is undoubtedly playing a role in the reported decline. 

     Unemployment claims data are down significantly from last year (Table 11). New claims on a weekly average basis declined from 854 to 518 or 20.8 percent. Likewise a major improvement was seen in the number of total claims. Total claims have contracted from 4,135 to 3,535 a drop of nearly 15 percent. 

     Residential construction activity is presented in Table 12. Residential permits issued rose 8.1 percent and the associated value of this new construction increased by 2.5 percent. However, the number of new housing units fell by approximately 7 percent. The lion's share of the quarter's activity took place in the alterations to existing structures category. The number of new permits issued grew by 13.4 percent and, moreover, the estimated value of this activity shot up by an impressive 71 percent over last year's total. 

     The nonresidential construction figures for First Quarter 1998 were encouraging (Table 13). The number of new nonresidential constriction permits went from 8 to 11 and the associated estimated value climbed from $1,902 thousand to $3,847 thousand. Alteration activity in the nonresidential category went as follows for First Quarter. The number of new permits dipped slightly, falling from 41 to 39. However, the estimated value of these alterations jumped from $1,570 million to $2,410 million. Major projects taking place in the local area are additions to Fiskars and the Wausau Hospital. 

     Table 14 gives financial statistics for the Wausau area. Good news can be reported for both deposits and loans. Bank deposits Increased from $1,014.4 million to $1,122.3 million or 10.0 percent in a year over comparison. Lending growth on the part of local institutions was also robust climbing from $8572 million to $932.4 million or nearly 9 percent. Both indicators suggest that the area economy is moving forward.