The greater Wausau area experienced an outstanding third quarter. The economy grew dramatically during this time period. This can be attributed to the abatement of inflation, favorable interest rates, a lowering of the dollar, and the general improvement in local area and industry conditions. However, the future direction of the Wausau area economy should be viewed with guarded optimism. Events taking place in the world's financial markets will have an impact on Central Wisconsin, the extent of which is as yet unknown.

     Fundamentally, the Wausau economy remains strong and its near term prospects, based on local factors, continue to be favorable. The unemployment rate is at a decade low. Total employment is at a record high level for the third quarter time period. Key Central Wisconsin industries are performing much better than they were in the past, and regional business executives are optimistic about conditions in their industries. Manufacturing in Wausau led the expansion in employment. This has positive implications for the area. Retailers report that activity is improved and is expected to expand even more next quarter. Help wanted advertising in Wausau remains at a high level, which should translate into more jobs. Unemployment claims are lower, indicative of improved conditions. Finally residential construction and financial data indicate that the area economy still has a considerable amount of momentum.

     Employment in the Wausau area expanded during third quarter as can be seen in Table 7. A total of 2,300 people were added to local payrolls. This represents an increase of approximately 5.10/0. As in second quarter, manufacturing led the improvement. The change in manufacturing accounted for nearly 570/0 of the growth in nonfarm employment. Good news also comes from the services and trade sectors. Expansion in these areas is representative of a strong local economy. Government and construction employment were virtually unchanged from last year. The data in Table 7 strongly suggests that the Marathon County economy continued to expand in third quarter. This rapid rate of growth commenced in first quarter 1987. Furthermore, manufacturing, services, and trade employment stand at decade high levels.

     The retailer confidence survey is given in Table 8. The response level for each question asked is essentially unchanged from last quarter. This is an encouraging sign showing continued confidence in the strength of the local economy. Retailers expected store traffic and sales three months from now to be higher than last year. This means that the consumption of retail goods and services may serve as a catalyst for fourth quarter Marathon County activities.

     Another indicator pointing toward a continuation of the expansion can be found in Table 9. The CWERB Help Wanted Advertising Index registered a value of 166. This is the highest score ever recorded for the month of September. Compared to the base period of 1980, there has been a 66% increase in the number of advertised jobs and an 11 % increase in job advertisment compared to last year. This information indicates that local employment should grow next quarter, all else being eqval.

     Table 10 gives the data on public assistance claims. The number of new applications and total caseloads remain almost unchanged from a year ago. However, unemployment claims in Table 11 are substantially lower than last year. Initial claims and total claims are down by 22.7% and 1l.00/0 respectively. These are the lowest values ever recorded by the CWERB in any quarter. This information lends support to the contention that the local economy has grown significantly during the first three quarters of 1987.

     Residential construction in the Wausau area is given in Table 12. The third quarter of 1987 evidenced a great amount of activity. As a matter of fact, this is the strongest third quarter on record. Substantial gains took place in all reporting areas. Residential construction is a leading economic indicator. Therefore, it is expected that this will create additional rounds of buying and income generation. Table 13 presents nonresidential construction for the Wausau area. The third quarter saw numerous additions being made to the local capital stock. Due to the singular nature of nonresidential construction, volatility in the numbers is common. Therefore, it is encouraging that quarter after quarter we have seen steady growth taking place in the greater Wausau area.

     Table 14 gives the financial statistics for Wausau. Deposits are at a record high for this time period, having expanded by a very healthy 6.50/0 over last year's total. This means that the liquidity of the local area is improved and that the potential for future spending remains good. Loan activity is at an all time high regardless of the quarter. For example, loan activity for third quarter 1987 is 25% above third quarter 1984. Even allowing for a 9.5% price level change between the two periods, the percentage change was substantial. The 5.0% increase in loans over last year is further evidence that local economic activity was vigorous in the July to September time frame.