Once again it can be reported that the area economy shows strong evidence of growth and expansion. Fourth quarter results were overwhelmingly positive. All aggregate employment totals were above last year's levels. The unemployment rate was well below last year's mark and merchants tell us they had a solid Christmas selling period. Help wanted advertising shot up dramatically from a year ago signaling an improvement in the local labor market. Total unemployment claims are down by nearly 18.9 percent and construction remained strong, even if it was off the 1992 pace. In spite of all this favorable information, we should not forget that there are people in this community who, for whatever personal reasons, have not participated in the economic expansion. An increase in the number of single parent households, part time jobs, and a lack of proper training have contributed to an increase in the area's poverty rate over the past several years. Like the U.S. as a whole, it appears that society has become more bipolar over the last decade. 

     For the Portage County area, industrial sector employment grew in all categories, the lone exception being government. Manufacturing, services, trade, and construction expanded by 2.0, 3.0, 1.4, and 0.9 percent respectively (Table 7). Services are once again the fastest growing classification in Portage County combing by 300 jobs to 10,450. Overall, Portage County industrial sector employment payrolls rose by 510 or a modest 1.7 percent. 

     Retailer Confidence in Table 8 displays area merchants' assessment of retail activity during the fourth quarter 1993. This panel believes that sales and store traffic this December were markedly superior to one year ago. Further, the sample of local merchants is moderately optimistic concerning the levels of sales and store traffic three months from now compared to a year ago. As a side note, however, it is worth mentioning that even though area merchants have an optimistic forecast, they are not quite as upbeat as they were in September. 

     Help wanted advertising in Stevens Point, Table 9, experienced a dramatic increase. This gauge of local labor market conditions rose by 102 points or 73 percent. Thus, even though this measure does not distinguish between part and full time positions, it is nonetheless very encouraging to see such an increase. For the U.S., job advertising rose by 13 percent signaling a strengthening in the national economy. 

     Table 10 presents very good economic news for the area. Public assistance claims, on a monthly average basis, declined in both new applications and total caseload. New applications fell from 178 to 125, a 28.8 percent contraction. Moreover, total caseload shrank from 1862 to 1553, or 16.3 percent from last year. The information is especially pleasing in light of the fact that total caseload figures in our area have been trending upward over the last few years. 

     Unemployment claims data in Table 11 shows no change in the number of new claims over the year on a weekly average basis. However, much improvement took place in the number of total claims reported for fourth quarter. Total claims fell from 169 to 137, a decrease of nearly 19 percent on a weekly average basis. This would indicate an overall strengthening in the local labor market situation.

      Residential construction activity remained brisk in the area despite lower construction figures reported in all categories of activity for fourth quarter 1993 (Table 12). It should be noted that fourth quarter 1992 was a very strong period and, in comparison, fourth quarter 1993 may appear weaker than it actually was. The number of new residential construction permits issued was 56, the estimated value of new homes came in at nearly $6 million, the number of units totaled 65, and 126 residential alteration permits were issued with an estimated value of $724 thousand. 

     Table 13 gives nonresidential construction activity for the area. Because of the volatility of these categories, no percentage changes are given. Three permits were issued for new nonresidential construction with an estimated value of $302 thousand. For nonresidential alterations, 52 permits were issued worth an estimated $871 thousand. Evaluating the quarter, as a whole, it appears that nonresidential activity was somewhat lower than normal for the time period. 

     Financial data for the local area is presented in Table 14. Bank deposits fell from 5340.7 to 5328.2 Million, a decline of 3.7 percent from last year. This unique situation parallels events occurring nationally as investors are evidently pulling their funds out of low interest bearing accounts and placing the deposits into mutual funds in the hope of earning higher returns. The banking industry has responded to this challenge by offering their own mutual funds as an alternative to traditional savings methods. Area lending expanded at a very healthy 6.0 percent from last year. Loans outstanding rose from $258.5 to $273.9 million in the local area; a sign of increased economic activity on the part of households and businesses.