Even though the national economy is in recession, the local area continued to hold its own in fourth quarter 1990. A word of caution is appropriate since national economic movements tend to lead the state by approximately nine to twelve months. Therefore, it would be premature to suggest that our area will completely avoid the misfortunes that are plaguing other parts of the country. Some of the evidence in this quarter's report suggests that the influence is already being felt in our area. However, as stated in previous Quarterly Economic Indicators, this area and the state are in a reasonably good position to handle this downturn if and when it eventuates for a number of reasons. Our region is diverse in its economic makeup. The wide variety of activities in our region helps spread employment out over a large number of employers. Further, excessive financial speculation which nags many other parts of the country is not evident in Wisconsin or our region. Finally, our area may not be recession‑proof, but it should be able to weather any downturn much better than during the recession of the early 1980s due in part to a concerted attempt by Wisconsin businesses to streamline operations and become more competitive.
 

     Table 7 shows that the Stevens Point‑Portage County area held its own in nonfarm employment activity. Manufacturing, trade, and construction were above fourth quarter 1989 figures. Only government and services employment were lower than a year ago. Trade and construction employment reached all‑time highs for the time of year by posting gains of 300 and 180 respectively in local payrolls. In sum the level of nonfarm industrial employment rose from 25,310in fourth quarter 1989 to25,500 in fourth quarter 1990, a net gain of 190 jobs or an approximately 0.8 percent rise in employment.
 

     Retailer attitudes toward the national and local economies are presented in Table 8. Area merchants tell the CWERB that sales and store traffic were about the same as one year ago. However, it should be noted that their response levels were the lowest recorded in the past five years. When asked about sales and store traffic three months from now, this group was mildly optimistic about sales and expected store traffic to remain about the same when compared to the same time last year. These responses, while generally positive, are also the least optimistic from this group over the past five years.
 

     The help wanted advertising index in Table 9 is a measure of local labor market conditions. The index over the past five quarters has been below the previous year's marks on four occasions. For this quarter the index stands at virtually the same level as one year ago. This indicates that local labor market conditions are not radically different than one year ago. However, advertising nationally has taken a very hard fall. The index fell by approximately 30 percent in November, one of the steepest declines on record.
 

     Good news for the local area comes from the public assistance and unemployment claims data presented in Table 10 and Table 11. Public assistance claims in Portage County have declined for both new applications and total caseload. The monthly average figures fell 6.0 percent and 16.2 percent respectively. Further, unemployment claims filed on a weekly average went from 67 to 66 for initial claims and from 148 to 142 for total claims. Tables 10 and 11 indicate an improvement in local family financial distress over the past year.
 

     Residential construction in the area was very brisk during the fourth quarter 1990, Table 12. Each and every category of residential construction was above last year's levels. Residential permits issued, the estimated value of new homes, the number of units, alteration permits issued, and the estimated value of residential alterations all recorded significant percentage gains. The additional capital investment in the community is a welcome stimulus to the rest of the local economy because of the wide range of inputs needed in the construction process.

     Table 13 shows similar results for nonresidential construction activity. All classifications topped last year's marks. Nonresidential activity is a measure of business confidence in the local economic situation and is a very important barometer.

     Local financial statistics are given in Table 14. This sample of local institutions shows that bank deposits increased by about $5.1 million or 1.6 percent, one of the smaller quarterly gains recorded by the CWERB in this type of activity. Bank lending here locally continues to expand and by a healthy 8.5 percent or nearly $20.0 million over last year at this time. Thus, this statistic indicates that a respectable amount of economic activity has taken place during 4th quarter 1990.