The Wausau area economy turned in a good performance over the past twelve months. There was little indication that the local economy was cooling down during Third Quarter 1996. For example, total employment and industrial sector employment were well ahead of last year's pace. Moreover, the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate is at a twenty‑six‑year low. Couple this with a surge in sales tax distribution, and the increase in nonresidential construction, and it is easy to understand why the local economy appears to be on solid ground. 

     Marathon county industrial sector employment expanded by a decent 2.7 percent from last year (Table 7). There are now approximately 64,000 people employed in the five major sectors listed in Table 7. All categories of employment were higher than last September. Manufacturing added 600, which is the largest number of jobs created in any sector. Trade and government each produced another 400 net jobs from September 1995. Services and construction trailed the others by adding 200 and 100 net jobs respectively. 

     The CWERB poll of local merchants revealed that area merchants are very upbeat in their assessment of the local retail scene (Table 8). Total sales and store traffic compared to one year ago is reported to be much improved. This group also believes sales and store traffic during the upcoming Christmas selling season will be much higher than last year. Thus, local merchants are quite optimistic with regard to their future prospects.

     Help wanted advertising in the Wausau area declined by about 9.8 percent from September 1995 (Table 9). As a matter of record, the index for Wausau has been trending slowly downward since about the end of 1994. The 164 reading, however, indicates there are about 1.6 jobs being advertised for every one listed in the base year. Thus, advertising still remains at a relatively high level. In contrast, the help wanted index for the U.S. is 18 percent below its base year. 

     Public assistance claims for Marathon county on a monthly average basis are given in Table 10. The numbers in the table refer only to general assistance. The sharp decline in both new and total claims since the early 1990s has accelerated over the past year. The state's W2 plan or the threat of its implementation has contributed to an unknown degree to this decline. 

     Another indicator of financial distress in the community is unemployment claims data (Table 11). On a weekly average basis new claims have contracted by almost 51 percent from last year. Likewise, total claims fell by almost 48 percent over the same time frame. This downward movement in total claims commenced near the end of 1995. Thus, this data along with the employment numbers suggest growth and expansion in the local economy. 

     Higher interest rates and a substantial amount of building and activity over the past several years are impacting the construction data for the Wausau area
(Table 12). The number of residential permits issued in Third Quarter is down by 13 percent from last year and the value of this construction is 15 percent below the prior year's mark. Further, the number of housing units is about half the number of Third Quarter 1995. Better news comes from the alteration figures. The number of permits rose by 9.3 percent and the value of this activity was 10 percent better than last year. 

     Nonresidential construction in the Wausau area was very strong when compared with 1995 amounts (Table 13). The number of permits issued was 21 with an estimated value of over $16 million. The amount of nonresidential alteration activity was also well above last year totals. The number of business permits was 65 and they had an estimated value of $5.3 million. Thus, the amount of nonresidential construction activity in the Wausau area strongly suggest a growing community. 

     Financial statistics for the Wausau area are given in Table 14. This quarter's sample of financial institutions implies a robust amount of change has taken place locally. Bank deposits have risen from $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion over the year or by 9.0 percent. Also, lending on the part of area institutions rose from $928 million to $1.0 billion, an increase of about 8.0 percent.