The Central Wisconsin economy continued to expand during second quarter 1989. Employment growth was substantial when compared to 1988 levels. All three counties shared in the expansion. Further, all major industrial sectors displayed varying degrees of vigor with many industries reaching all-time high levels of employment. Key regional industries were paced by developments in the paper products industry. Economic conditions nationally and in the industry have been conducive to expansion. The regional economy is also dependent on the agricultural sector. Central Wisconsin is a leader in dairy and vegetable production. Better weather conditions this year have given rise to expectations of an improved harvest. This would provide an additional stimulus to the regional economy.

     Table 2 presents data on unemployment in Central Wisconsin. Portage, Marathon, and Wood counties all experienced increases in their unemployment rates. However, this increase occurred concomitant with continued growth in total employment, indicating a situation where the labor force is expanding at a faster rate than the number of new jobs. The Central Wisconsin overall unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percent from last year. At the state level, the jump was more dramatic as the unemployment rate increased by over half a percentage point.

     Employment in the region increased by a respectable 3.8 percent or 4900 positions. (Table 3) All three counties made significant strides in job creation, and employment has now reached record levels regardless of the time of year. Wood County led the procession with a gain of 1800 jobs. Marathon and Portage counties followed closely with gains of 1700 and 1400 respectively. As mentioned in previous reports, extensive commuting takes place between the counties. It is, therefore, useful to consider the aggregate totals of the region to gain more accurate insight into the economic viability of the area. Employment growth at state and national levels was positive, but not as robust in the Central Wisconsin area.

     Another approach to analyzing local economic conditions is to examine major sector employment. Table 4 shows that employment increased in all nonfarm sectors. Approximately 4000 more nonfarm jobs exist than just one year ago. This represents an increase of 3.6 percent. The manufacturing and service sectors added 1600 employees to regional payrolls. Trade, construction, and government made modest but positive contributions to the employment picture. Historically, manufacturing and service employment are at all-time record levels regardless of the time of year.

     Table 5 lists the region's basic industries. These industries are exporters in, the sense that they bring new money into the region and serve as the foundation of our regional nonfarm economy. Therefore, the 6.0 percent increase over last year comes as welcome news. Nearly 70 percent of this increase can be attributed to the paper products industries. The generally lower dollar and high world demand for these products have spurred the recent growth. Food processing employment grew by nearly 12 percent to 4700. The 500 additional jobs in this sector demonstrate continued steady growth. Lumber and wood products increased by a modest 1.9 percent or 100 positions. Only finance, insurance, and real estate showed negative growth by posting a 100 job decline since 1988.

     Table 6 lists the results of the CWERB's business confidence survey. Business executives feel that national and local conditions have improved somewhat over the past several months. They also expressed the opinion that national and local economic conditions and the positions of their industries will not change much over the next quarter. This can be interpreted to mean that they do not expect conditions to substantially improve or deteriorate.