Local economic expansion slowed during the second quarter of 1988. The results for third quarter tell a similar story. Total job creation in Portage County was positive. A caveat to this is that the year-to-year inconsistency in reporting teacher employment may have caused an overestimation of this total. Moreover, nonfarm total employment for the second consecutive quarter is estimated not to have changed significantly.

      Bright spots for the local economy include a much lower unemployment rate, an optimistic retailer survey, and an improved help wanted index. Other positive indicators are the decline in unemployment claims, and an increase in nonresidential construction. Several local industries are in various stages of expanding their operations, i.e. Woodward Governor, First Financial, Mach (a transportation oriented company), and the local paper companies. Therefore, the area economy should receive a boost when these planned expansions are finalized.

     Portage County employment growth when compared to third quarter 1987 was disappointing (Table 7). Manufacturing payrolls were down by 100 people. Services and construction, likewise, experienced contractions. Only the trade sector, which includes wholesale and retail activity, showed any improvement. A word of caution about the government employment surge. The huge increase of 800 or 18.6 percent reflects the fact that local teachers were not included in the September 1987 numbers. This year, teacher employment was reported earlier and thus included in the September figures. It should be noted that even though third quarter 1988 was not up to last year's standard for Portage County, historically speaking, the levels reported are much higher than in 1986.

     The opinions of local retailers are recorded in Table 8. This group of business managers relates that store traffic and sales are better than a year ago. With regard to the future, they believe that traffic and sales will grow at a moderate pace. Approximately the same level of optimism was expressed last quarter.

     Table 9 gives the help wanted advertising index for the Stevens Point area. A reversal from second quarter occurred. That is, this period showed an increase in job advertising (approximately 16 percent). The index indicates that 2.25 jobs are being advertised for each position available in 1980. This is a positive sign for future payrolls. Unfortunately, the index is not designed to generate information about the quality of the jobs being advertised. This type of information is more difficult to obtain.

     Local family financial distress is gauged in Table 10 and Table 11. As can be seel4 there is some good news in both categories. Public assistance and unemployment claims are somewhat lower than in previous years. For instance, unemployment claims, new and total, are 14.1 percent and 3.5 percent lower than in third quarter 1987. Thus, improvement has taken place during the strengthening of the local economy. However, the statistics indicate that some people still are facing financial difficulties even during this time of expansion.

     Residential construction numbers are given in Table 12. As can be seen, residential permits issued, the estimated value of new homes, and alteration permits were lower than last year's totals. However, the number of housing units and the estimated value of alterations were higher. The decrease in the number of permits issued accompanied by an increase in the number of units reflects an increase in the construction of multi­family units. Thus one can say that residential construction, which is regarded as a leading indicator of future economic activity, has slowed.

     Nonresidential construction data in Table 13 demonstrates that activity was generally positive and substantial from a historic perspective. Eleven new business permits were issued with a total value of just under $3 million. A total of 44 firms are planning to alter their premises. As mentioned in previous reports, nonresidential construction numbers can be volatile because one or two major projects can have a substantial influence on the totals.

     Financial statistics for Portage County are given in Table 14.  Local liquidity was up by nearly $20 million from a year ago. This reflects the fact that conditions for the past couple of years have been favorable for the area. Bank loan activity was 5.2 percent higher or approximately $10 million. Higher loan activity is usually associated with an increase in econonric activity. Thus, together the statistics indicate an expanding situation.