The economy in the Wausau area did quite well during Second Quarter 1997 and is forecasted to continue on this track for the rest of the year. The unemployment rate is at a very low 3.5 percent, and industrial employment moved upward by 1,700 positions or 2.7 percent. In addition, retailers are very upbeat about sales and traffic, help wanted advertising remains at an elevated level, unemployment claims continue to trend lower, construction activity is brisk, and financial data suggests that significant change has taken place.  

     In more detail, Table 7 shows the Marathon county industrial sector employment situation. Manufacturing, services, and trade payrolls grew by 600, 500, and 600 positions respectively. Government added 100 positions, but this was offset by a 100 position contraction in the construction industry. In sum, industrial sector employment increased from 62.7 to 64.4 thousand or by 2.7 percent. 

     Merchants in the local area tell the CWERB that total sales and trafficons  have improved over those figures of a year ago (Table 8). This group remains quite upbeat with regard to the future. They expect sales and store traffic to be noticeably better than twelve months ago. Retail activity is the final step in the production of goods and services and thus serves as a good indicator of the health of the local economy. 

     Help wanted advertising in the region has risen from 200 to 214, or by 7 percent from June 1996 (Table 9). This means that firms are advertising 2.1 jobs for each position advertised in the base year. Moreover, there has been a 7 percent increase in advertising since just last year. Even though help wanted advertising only captures a small portion of the number of positions available in an area, it nonetheless serves as an important barometer that signals the direction of employment change. 

     Table 10 is indicative of the dramatic developments that have come about in Wisconsin with regard to the administration of public assistance. With the advent of W2 many individuals have voluntarily left the welfare rolls to enter the job market. Further, tighter restrictions on who can receive aid and for how long have pushed the public assistance figures to incredibly low levels.  

     Unemployment claim data on a weekly average basis have declined over the year (Table 11). New claims fell from 193 to 186 or about 4 percent. More importantly total claims have declined by nearly 8 percent over the same period, from 1,506 to 1,393. Both sets of numbers suggest that the economy is progressing because a decline in claim data is usually associated with a strengthening economy. Layoffs that are slated to come at a local department store will undoubtedly affect these figures in the quarters ahead. 

     Residential construction activity in the Wausau area was very brisk during Second Quarter (Table 12). The number of permits issued rose by 48.6 percent and likewise the estimated value of this construction rose by 49.5 percent. Further, the number of housing units scheduled to be built during the period rose by 89.7 percent when compared to last year's activity level. Alteration permits issued declined by about 10.5 percent and the value of the permits dropped by 2.7 percent. 

     Nonresidential construction is presented in Table 13 for the Wausau area. This activity is presented without percentage change due to the volatile nature of this kind of activity. The number of permits issued was 18 and they had an estimated value of $7.4 million. The number of business alteration permits was 65 and their value was estimated to be $14.9 million. Thus, the data teary indicated that a great deal of activity was scheduled to commence during Second Quarter in the greater Wausau area. 

     Positive developments also occurred in the financial data for this quarter (Table 14). Bank deposits rose by $75.3 million, or nearly 7 percent. Moreover, bank lending jumped upwards by $110.6 million, or 11.5 percent higher than just a year ago. These statistics are consistent with those one would expect to see in a growing economy.