Just Like Old Times The CBEI crew and our presenters are very excited to be back in front of a live audience for our May 13 breakfast meeting at SentryWorld Atrium. It’s been a long time! Our last breakfast meeting was in December 2019, just three months before the unwelcome arrival of COVID-19! In The U.S. Economy: The Myths vs. The Realities , Chief Analyst Kevin Bahr provides much needed context in creating a more nuanced account of our current economic conditions. In doing so, he exposes the shortcomings of several popular myths about the economy. The macroeconomy is a constantly evolving web of extraordinarily complex relationships. Depictions that focus solely on one or two causal factors typically fall short in providing an accurate characterization of the economy. I am excited to announce the revival of our business confidence index in the Economic Indicators section of the report. The index is based on a survey of business executives in Marathon, Portage and Wood counties. We are grateful for the cooperation of the following Chamber of Commerce leaders for sharing the survey with their members: Brian Otten, marketing manager of the Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce; Scott Larson, president of the Marshfield Chamber of Commerce; Angel Whitehead, president of the Heart of Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce; and Karen Myers, director of programs and events for the Portage County Business Council. Thanks also go out to Prof. Nik Butz, Emma Fisher and Jenny Resch for organizing and managing the survey process. Our special report, Sustainability: Our Pathway to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion by Bo Dedeker (assistant professor of accounting), Brianna Burke (career development coordinator), and Alex Garcia (accounting major) addresses the critical importance of sustainability for both our planet and society and describes the important role that businesses, government, and universities can play in meeting sustainability goals. This issue’s Insight Spotlight column, The Growing Trend to Overcome the Labor Shortage , features Christopher Spranger, CEO of Spranger Business Solutions, describing how the adoption of Lean Six Sigma practices can help companies dramatically improve efficiencies in production and help relieve the current labor shortage problem.
Table of Contents
The U.S. Economy: The Myths vs. The Realities.................................................1-10 Kevin M. Bahr, CBEI Chief Analyst Economic Indicators..................................................................11-17 Scott Wallace, CBEI Director and Editor National Economic Statistics................................................... 11-13 Table 1: Key Economic Indicators Table 2: Contributions to Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product Table 3: Lifecycle of the Expansion Labor Market Statistics.................................................................. 14 Table 4: Labor Market Indicators from LAUS Table 5: WI Employment by Major Industry Sector County Economic Statistics. .......................................................... 15 Table 6: Help Wanted Advertising Table 7: Unemployment Claims Table 8: County Sales Tax Distribution Housing and Construction.........................................................16-17 Table 9: National Affordability Index Table 10: Median Home Prices and Home Sales Table 11: Residential Construction Table 12: Nonresidential Construction Business Sentiment........................................................................ 17 Table 13: Business Confidence Survey: Central Wisconsin Area Special Report........................................................................... 18-22 Sustainability: Our Pathway to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Brianna Burke, Prof. Bo DeDeker and Alex Garcia Column: Insight Spotlight......................................................... 23-24 The Growing Trend to Overcome the Labor Shortage Christopher Spranger MBA Program........................................................ Inside Back Cover
CBEI Mission
CBEI Staff
The UW-Stevens Point Center for Business and Economic Insight (CBEI) promotes regional economic and community development through the provision of business and economic knowledge to local business, governmental, and community leaders. The primary areas of focus are Portage, Marathon and Wood counties.
Scott Wallace.................................... Director and Editor, CBEI Kevin Bahr................................................... Chief Analyst, CBEI Alexis Flaten......................................Research Assistant, CBEI Eva Donohoo................................... Publication Designer, CPS
The Center for Business and Economic Insight is made possible thanks to support from the UW-Stevens Point School of Business and Economics.
The UW-Stevens Point School of Business and Economics creates career-ready graduates and leaders through applied learning. We serve the businesses, economy and people of the greater Central Wisconsin region. We specialize in preparing students for success by providing professional development experiences, access to employers, and in-demand skills.
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