The Stevens Point area economy has many positive factors operating as we enter the decade of the 90s. For example, the planned growth and expansion of several new and existing businesses and agri‑businesses seems to assure that the long‑term growth path will be positive. Further, the planned development of the transportation network will be another big plus for the area. 

     For the past 3 1 /2 years the local economy has made great strides and recovery from the recession of the early 1980s is more than complete. But, in contrast to this, there are signs that in the short‑run the local economy may have slowed. This parallels what is now taking place at the national level. It should be remembered that business fluctuations are a normal and reoccurring phenomenon in any dynamic economy. These ups and downs in activity result from imbalances that tend to build in an economy over time. Changes or fluctuations in business activity are the ways in which the system corrects these imbalances. 

     The manufacturing sector's employment expanded by 400 positions or 8.3 percent from a year ago to lead all sectors, (Table 7). Construction was the only other category to post a gain, 100 positions. For the time of year, manufacturing and construction posted record levels of employment. Service and government employment were virtually unchanged with trade experiencing a slight drop. When 1989 is contrasted with 1988 for all industries, we see a net gain of 260 positions or about 1.0 percent.

     Retailer confidence given, in Table 8, provides important insight into the shape of the local economy. Retailers tell the CWERB that store traffic and sales are slightly better than a year ago. Although, they feel that matters will improve in the months ahead, the scores recorded for December are the lowest since the CWERB began tracking the situation. 

     For the second consecutive quarter help wanted advertising has declined. Compared to a year ago, the number of jobs advertised is down by nearly 13 percent, (Table 9). In September the drop amounted to 8.0 percent. It should be pointed out that even with the December decline there are nearly 1 3/4 jobs being advertised for every 1 job advertised in December 1980. A similar situation exists at the national level, there the December decline amounted to 5.1 percent. This means that job growth locally and nationally will be somewhat slower than we have experienced in the last several years. 

     Mixed signals are being given in Table 10 and Table 11. For public assistance, both initial claims filed and total caseload increased. The monthly average for new applications increased by 32 whereas the total caseload rose by 3.1 percent. In contrast, unemployment claims for the area were lower for new and total claims. New claims were down 15.2 percent while total claims dropped by an average of 22 per week. 

     Residential construction is a good barometer of future overall activity (Table 12). For the fourth quarter in a row, residential construction is below its 1988 counterpart. However, it should be noted that 1988 was one of the strongest years on record. Further, at some point in time, housing demand can become satiated. For 4th quarter 1988 the results show that all categories of residential construction were substantially below last year's totals. 

     Table 13 lists the results for 4th quarter nonresidential construction activity. Due to the large and singular nature of these kinds of events, no percentage changes are given. The number of permits issued and the number of nonresidential alterations were lower than a year ago. However, the estimated value of new structures and nonresidential alterations were substantially above last year's levels. Thus, overall, it appears that nonresidential construction is proceeding at a normal pace. 

     Financial statistics for Portage County are given in order to gauge the economy's present and future condition (Table 14). Deposits in the CWERB sample rose by 13.6 percent from December 1988. Thus, locally liquidity appears to have increased by a good margin. Bank lending activity was also higher; but due to asset transfers between parent companies and local affiliates, local lending activity may be overstated in these figures.