Contact: Bill Rubin/Jacki Bradham, St. Croix EDC, 715-381-4383
Dashboard now reflects a 6-county region with the inclusion of Minnesota counties
The March edition of the St. Croix Valley Economic Dashboard has been released by the Center for Economic Research (CER) at UW-River Falls and St. Croix Economic Development Corporation (SCEDC). The dashboard is a snapshot of the economic condition of the labor, consumer and housing markets in the six county St. Croix Valley, which now includes the Wisconsin counties of Polk, St. Croix, and Pierce as well as the Minnesota counties of Chisago, Ramsey and Washington. It presents the latest available data in one convenient package (note: most regional data is available with a one or two month delay). The Dashboard can be viewed on the CER’s website at http://www.uwrf.edu/cer.
Dr. Logan Kelly, director of the CER, conducts research for the Dashboard and offered his observations:
State and National Indicators
“Nationally, the economy grew at a seasonally adjusted annually rate of 3.0 percent during the fourth quarter of 2011, up 0.63 percentage points from the previous quarter. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 227,000 in February 2012, and the unemployment rate, at 8.3 percent, is 0.7 percentage points below the February 2011 rate. Job gains occurred in professional and businesses services, health care and social assistance, leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, and mining. The public sector remained unchanged in February, although the public sector in 2011 lost an average of 22,000 jobs per month.”
“Wisconsin’s unemployment rate for January was down slightly to 6.9 percent, which was led by a 0.1 percent increase in employment and 0.1 percent decrease in labor force, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) survey of households. However, Wisconsin lost 12,500 jobs during 2011. This indicates that while the labor market conditions have improved in Wisconsin, the improvement has been driven by growth in neighboring states.”
“Minnesota’s unemployment rate for January was also down slightly to 5.6 percent, which was led by a minor decrease in employment and a 0.2 percent decrease in labor force, according to the BLS survey of households. Minnesota gained 15,500 jobs according to the establishments survey.”
“The Philadelphia Fed’s Coincident Index of economic activity indicated the Wisconsin economy contracted at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.6 percent in January 2012, and the Leading Index is predicting a positive annual growth rate of 1.95 percent over next the six months, which is too low to expect meaningful labor market recovery. The Minnesota economy contracted at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.88 percent, and the Leading Index is predicting a negative annual growth rate of 0.88 percent over next the six months.”
Labor Market
“The Wisconsin economy gained 12,500 jobs (net) in January 2012 but lost 12,500 jobs over 2011. The Minnesota economy gained 15,500 jobs (net) in January and gained 35,800 over last year. Job losses occurred in a few areas, but overall, most sectors grew during January. Wisconsin and Minnesota both had job losses in the public sector of 3,200 and 1,700 respectively.”
“In Wisconsin, there were gains in mining and logging, construction, manufacturing, trade, transportation and utilities, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality. The largest gains for Wisconsin came in construction, which added 4,200 jobs and trade, transportation, and utilities, which added 3,700 jobs.”
“In Minnesota, there were gains in mining and logging, construction, manufacturing, information, professional and business services, education and health services and other services. The largest job gains were in professional and business services, which added 5,600 jobs and construction which added 4,200 jobs.”
“Conditions in the new, six county regional labor market are faring better than the state average. The regional unemployment rate rose in December 2011 by 0.25 percentage point to 5.6 percent, lower than the state average in Wisconsin of 7.0 percent, and comparable to the Minnesota average of 5.7 percent and the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) unemployment rate of 5.2 percent. The St. Croix Valley’s relative economic strength, as compared to the rest of the state, appears to be driven by close proximity to the Twin Cities.”
Housing Market
“The Case-Shiller Home Price index for Chicago and nationally decreased for November 2011 but increased in Minneapolis, for the first time in four months. Nationally, the home price index has decreased every one of the past eight months. Median home prices decreased in the region for February 2012 and the number of homes sold increased in the region for February. The number of homes sold was 19.5 percent higher than one year ago and the median home price is 4.1 percent lower than one year ago.”
The Wisconsin/Minnesota St. Croix Valley is comprised of St. Croix, Polk, and Pierce counties in Wisconsin and Chisago, Ramsey and Washington counties in Minnesota. All six counties are located along the Wisconsin-Minnesota border. Five of the six counties, St. Croix , Pierce, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington, are included in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI MSA, a 13-county region with of population of 3.3 million residents.
For additional information on the March edition of the St. Croix Valley Economic Dashboard, contact Dr. Logan Kelly at cer@uwrf.edu or (715) 425-4993 or William Rubin at bill@stcroixedc.com or (715) 381-4383.
