The Marshfield and Wood county area economy performed well during Second Quarter 1996. Highlights of the report include the low unemployment rate which while higher than last year, remains at a very depressed level, moreover employment figures are ahead of last year's pace, and almost all other indicators of economic well being were improved over the period. Unless some unforeseen shock hits the national economy, the local area should continue to prosper.

     Industrial sector employment for Wood county expanded at an overall rate of 3.2 percent from June of last year (Table 7). The trade sector added the most to its payrolls by adding 816 people. Manufacturing and services, which are the largest sources of employment for area residents, increased by 220 and 467 respectively. However, over the same time interval construction and government payrolls contracted by an estimated 75 and 62 positions.

     The CWERB's panel of area merchants believes their store sales were better than Second Quarter sales of a year ago (Table 8). However they estimate that store traffic was at about the same level or perhaps even slightly lower. Our local retailers are also forecasting that sales and traffic will be better next quarter as compared to last year's levels. Thus, it appears that the local retail scene is on firm ground and is doing well.

     Help wanted advertising is a good barometer of local labor market conditions (Table 9). The index for June stood at 290 which means there are 2.9 jobs being advertised for every position advertised in the base year. Even though the index has declined from last year's mark it remains at an elevated level. This suggests the local economy will continue adding jobs to its industrial base.

     Another important measure of economic performance is public assistance claims data. Table 10 shows that the total number of new claims has dipped by 187 cases over the course of the year. This decline of over 7 percent bodes well for the local area. As a matter of record public assistance in the county has been declining since early 1996. Clearly the impact of the state's W2 program is affecting the results.

     Unemployment claims data for Wood county brings more good news to this quarters report (Table 11). New claims on a weekly average basis fell from 65 to 51, or by 21.5 percent. Also encouraging is the decline in total claims. This number had declined from 168 to 145, or 13.7 percent. However, we might expect to see some upward movement in next quarter's figures because of the impending closure of a local food processing plant.

     Residential construction was somewhat lower this year when compared to last (Table 12). Figures for Second Quarter are as follows. Residential permits issued declined from 12 to 9, or 25.0 percent, and likewise the estimated value of this construction fell from $1.35 million to $922 thousand. In addition, the number of units slated for construction slipped from 14 to 9. Alteration activity, however, increased slightly over the period, growing from 85 to 86 permits. The estimated value of this alteration activity rose from $451.0 thousand $465.9 thousand, or by about 3.3 percent.

     Nonresidential construction data are not presented with percentage changes because of the inherent volatility of this type of building activity  (Table 13). In other words, these projects tend to be large singular events which can greatly influence the totals. For Second Quarter new nonresidential permits reached 19 with an estimated value of approximately $1.3 million. During the same period the number of alteration permits was 14 and the value was estimated at $264.3 thousand.

     Financial statistics for this quarter are quite good  (Table 14). Deposits in our sample of local institutions rose by nearly $16 million, or 5.8 percent, from June 1996. Equally impressive was the gain recorded for lending activity. Lending on the part of local institutions rose by $25.2 million, or by about 11 percent.

     Table 15 and Table 16 present Clark county economic data. Clark is an important market area for many Marshfield businesses. Hence the inclusion of the data in this report. Generally speaking, Second Quarter results were mixed for Clark County. Manufacturing, trade, and construction payrolls rose over the period. However, government and construction employment contracted. The unemployment rate fell but so did the total number of employed. The factor that caused this seemingly contradictory situation to take place is that the labor force was estimated to have contracted by an even faster rate over the period. Thus, it is possible to experience a declining unemployment rate and at the same time experience a decline in the number of people employed.