CBEI Central Wisconsin Fall 2023 Report

The Central Wisconsin Community As our CBEI mission statement (see below) underscores, our goal is to contribute to the success of the Central Wisconsin region through the dissemination of useful knowledge and information. It is in this spirit that we proudly present this issue’s special report, South Wood County Population Health Partnership by Tami Swenson, Ph.D. who is the Legacy Endowed Chair in Population Health from the UWSP School of Health Sciences and Wellness. In her role as Endowed Chair, Tami is leading an effort to improve health and wellness of communities in the South Wood County region through the establishment of methods for data collection and analysis to assess population health outcomes that will inform new public health initiatives. UW-Stevens Point students play important roles in the implementation of this process. In Economic Review 2023 and What’s Ahead for 2024 , Chief Analyst Kevin Bahr does just that – he provides in-depth analysis of current U.S. macroeconomic performance while anticipating economic trends for the upcoming year. Our Economic Indicators section provides a wide variety of timely national, state, and local economic statistics and analysis covering areas including labor markets, housing affordability, construction, area business confidence and more. This issue’s Insight Spotlight column, Practicing Storied Leadership: Why Business Leaders Should Tell More Stories , features Reed Stratton, associate professor of business at UWSP Sentry School of Business and Economics, describing how storytelling can help business leaders achieve their goals. On the cover: UW-Stevens Point School of Health Sciences and Wellness student Bella Berg works alongside Hannah Wendels Scott, a nutrition educator in Wood County and 2019 UWSP alumna, at the FOCUS Food Pantry in Wisconsin Rapids.

Table of Contents Economic Update Fall 2023........................................................1-12 Kevin M. Bahr Economic Indicators.................................................................13-21 Scott Wallace and Kyle Pulvermacher National Economic Statistics....................................................13-17 Table 1: Key Economic Indicators Table 2: Changes in Price Levels Table 3: National Employment Indicators Table 4: Contributions to Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product Table 5: Lifecycle of the Expansion Labor Market Statistics..................................................................18 Table 6: Labor Market Indicators from LAUS Table 7: WI Employment by Major Industry Sector County Economic Statistics...........................................................19 Table 8: Help Wanted Advertising Table 9: Unemployment Claims Table 10: County Sales Tax Distribution Housing and Construction........................................................ 20-21 Table 11: National Affordability Index Table 12: Median Home Prices and Home Sales

Table 13: Residential Construction Table 14: Nonresidential Construction

Business Sentiment........................................................................21 Table 15: Business Confidence Survey: Central Wisconsin Area Special Report.......................................................................... 22--27 South Wood County Population Health Partnership Tami Swenson Column: Insight Spotlight......................................................... 28-29 Practicing Storied Leadership: Why Business Leaders Should Tell More Stories Reed Stratton

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 Kyle Pulvermacher................Senior 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 Sentry School of Business and Economics.

The UW-Stevens Point Sentry 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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