Interesting (and Exciting) Times
Table of Contents
The Center for Business and Economic Insight staff is very excited about this digital version of our fall report!
Divisiveness and The Economic Challenges of 2021.......1-6 Kevin M. Bahr, CBEI Chief Analyst Economic Indicators.........................................................7-12 Scott Wallace, CBEI Director and Editor National Economic Statistics.............................................7-9 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....................................................... 10 Table 4: Labor Market Indicators from LAUS Table 5: WI Employment by Major Industry Sector County Economic Statistics. ...............................................11 Table 6: Help Wanted Advertising Table 7: Unemployment Claims Table 8: County Sales Tax Distribution Housing and Construction...................................................12 Table 9: National Affordability Index Table 10: Median Home Prices and Home Sales Table 11: Residential Construction Table 12: Nonresidential Construction Special Report................................................................ 13-19 Grit Won’t Quit: How Hiring for Passion + Perseverance May Help Reduce Turnover Nik Butz, Ph.D. and Reed Stratton, Ph.D. Column: Insight Spotlight.............................................. 20-21 Release the Data Analyst! Kurt Pflughoeft, Ph.D. Column: Inner View........................................................ 22-23 Thousand Lumens Productions Emma Fisher Column: Talent Matters....................................................... 24 Lyna Matesi, Ph.D. UW-Stevens Point MBA Program. ................. Inside Back Cover
Chief Analyst Kevin Bahr addresses the significant economic challenges America faces in 2021 during a time of extreme social and political divisiveness, focusing on the continued effects of COVID-19 and the
rapid growth in budget deficits and debt. Kevin will be exploring other economic challenges in his blog post which can be found at bit.ly/uwspcbeiblog . The Economic Indicators Report reveals the dramatic and rather unusual effects of COVID-19 on the national, state and regional economies. School of Business and Economics faculty Nik Butz and Reed Stratton, with the assistance of SBE students Abby Schmidt and Emily Gruber, present their research on the impact of grit on employee turnover for our Special Repor t. Here, you can find the slides from their presentation at the December 11 CBEI webinar meeting. This issue’s Insight Spotlight features Prof. Kurt Pflughoeft, director of the Center for Data Analytics, illustrating the tremendous value of data analytics in contributing to business success. In Inner View , CBEI Senior Research Assistant Emma Fisher talks with local entrepreneurs Jade Arnold and Zach Strenger about their business, Thousand Lumens Productions, which creates marketing videos for its clients. Our next presentation in May 2021 will be hosted on Zoom and our next report (also in May) will also be distributed electronically. The CBEI staff looks forward to the day when we can resume our normal, face-to-face biannual breakfast meetings. Let’s hope that the wide distribution of a vaccine next year will allow us to do so in December 2021!
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 Emma Fisher.........................Senior Research Assistant, CBEI Eva Donohoo................................... Publication Designer, CPS
The Central for Business and Economic Insight is made possible thanks to support from the UW-Stevens Point School of Buinsess 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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