In summary, total industrial sector employment in Wood County is up by 1.9 percent from a year ago.  Merchants are still optimistic about retail activity, but not as much as they were in March.  The help wanted advertising index is slightly lower than a year ago.  Measures of local family distress point to a mixed picture of the economy.  Construction activity is well off the pace of a year ago.  Lastly, Clark County payrolls have expanded since 2005. 

     Total nonfarm employment estimates from the state of Wisconsin are based on data provided by employers (Table 7).  Total employment in Wood County expanded by 1.9 percent from a year ago.  The trade, transportation and utilities, education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and government sector payrolls have expanded over the past twelve months.  Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector was estimated to have declined by 700 positions over the same period.  The construction, financial activities, and information and business employment levels were all unchanged from a year ago.   

     The CWERB survey of local merchants is presented in Table 8.  Marshfield area retailers while generally optimistic about activity levels are less so than last quarter.  Total sales and store traffic indexes are modestly range for June 2006.  In March of 2006 there was a higher assessment of the levels of activity.  The survey results were similar for expected sales and store traffic.  Thus, one could conclude that there has been a marked reduction in the level expectations of area retailers.   

     The CWERB help wanted index shows that Marshfield area advertising stands at 93 for June 2006 (Table 9).  One year ago the index was at 105.  This indicates a possible slowdown in the hiring plans of local businesses relative to a year ago.  The U.S. index was virtually unchanged over the course of the year.  Even though help wanted advertising only captures a small part of the job market, it is nonetheless a good barometer of labor market conditions and is highly correlated with unemployment levels. 

     Table 10 presents the Wood County public assistance figures.  On a monthly average basis, the total caseload declined from 85 to 75 or by 11.8 percent.  Another measure of local family distress is given in Table 11.  New unemployment claims in Wood County increased from 208 to 236 or by 13.5 percent in a year over basis.  In contrast, total claims declined from 1,393 to 1,291 or by 7.3 percent over the same period.  Thus, we get somewhat mixed signals as to the condition of family financial distress in Wood County.  

     Residential construction in the Marshfield area is off the pace of one year ago (Table 12).  The number of permits, their estimated value, the number of housing units, the number of residential permits issued, and the estimated value of the alteration activity were all lower than the second quarter of 2005 figures.  Similarly, housing activity at the national level has cooled off significantly.  Higher interest rates and a slower growing economy have had an influence on this situation.   

     Due to its inherent volatility, nonresidential construction is presented without percentage changes (Table 13).  There was one permit issued and it had an estimated value of $614 thousand.  The number of business alteration permits was 11 and they had an estimated value of $3.9 million.  In general nonresidential construction was low compared to most second quarter results.   

     Table 14 and 15 give Clark County economic information.  Table 14 shows that total nonfarm employment grew by 3.8 percent over the year.  Likewise, Table 15 shows that total employment, based on household data, is estimated to have increased by 1.5 percent.  Thus, there has been an improvement in the payroll levels in Clark County.  Given that Clark County is an important market for Marshfield area businesses this growth bodes well for Marshfield firms.