Contact: Bill Rubin/Jacki Bradham, St. Croix EDC, 715-381-4383
The April 2013 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 seven county St. Croix Valley, which includes the Wisconsin counties of Polk, St. Croix, Pierce, and Dunn and 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 at www.uwrf.edu/CenterforEconomicResearch (select: St. Croix Valley Dashboard).
Dr. Logan Kelly, director of the CER, conducts research for the Dashboard and offered his observations:
Selected Observations:
The unemployment rate in the St. Croix Valley for February dropped to 5.9 percent and is down 0.35 percent from January and 0.61 percent year over year. The Valley’s unemployment rate followed the same downward trend of the 13-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MSA which recorded a rate of 5.5 percent in February. This rate is also down from the previous month and year over year. Wisconsin’s rate in February was 7.2 percent and is up from January and year over year. The March 2013 unemployment rate for the U.S. was 7.6 percent and is down 0.6 percent from one year ago.
Total employment for February increased in both the St. Croix Valley and 13-county metro area. Employment is up in both areas from January and year over year. Total employment in Wisconsin was unchanged from January to February and is down 0.3 percent from February 2012.
See Wisconsin and Minnesota Employment by Sector Tables
County sales tax revenue for January in the St. Croix Valley increased 15.1 percent from December and was up 37.2 percent from January 2012. Sales tax revenues for Wisconsin also increased from December to January as well as year over year.
March home sales were up in the St. Croix Valley by 10.6 percent from March 2012. The median home price of the sales for March 2013 ($145,051) increased 1.2 percent from the previous month and 20.3 percent year over year.
For new and expanding businesses, the Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 20-year gross debenture for March was at 4.30 percent and is down 0.4 percent from one year ago.
About the St. Croix Valley
The Wisconsin/Minnesota St. Croix Valley is comprised of St. Croix, Polk, Pierce and Dunn counties in Wisconsin and Chisago, Ramsey and Washington counties in Minnesota. All seven counties are located at or near the Wisconsin-Minnesota border. Five of the seven counties (St. Croix, Pierce, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington) are included in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metropolitan area, a 13-county region with of population of 3.3 million residents.
For additional information on 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.
