Economic Development

Like the rest of the nation, the Chippewa Valley seems to be moving forward economically, continuing to pull itself out of the deep rut dug by the Great Recession. By almost every economic development metric, things have improved over the past year: More sales tax revenue was generated in the metro area, indicating a resurgence of the retail sector; the number and value of new homes grew impressively, as did the number of existing homes sold; more businesses were incorporated in the region; the value of a basket of stocks with local ties grew at a healthy clip (in fact, faster than the major market indexes); and the value of all building permits in the city, while down in 2012 from 2011, was still the fourth-best ever at $153 million (and nearly twice the 2010 total of $78 million).

“We’re very busy, and to me that’s a sign that things are going well.”
-- Mike Schatz, city of Eau Claire economic development administrator

“We’re very busy, and to me that’s a sign that things are going well,” says Mike Schatz, the City of Eau Claire’s economic development administrator. His office is hopping these days, fielding inquiries from potential businesses and working with existing ones. Schatz points to the rapid expansion of JAMF Software – which hopes to grow from about 100 employees to more than 200 by the end of next year – as an example of healthy growth in the region. Likewise, the proposed Confluence Project could have a large, positive economic impact if it reaches fruition. While recent announcements haven’t been for 500 or 1,000 jobs at once as they may have been in the heady days of the 1990s, economic growth in the Chippewa Valley is steady enough to set your watch by, Schatz says. Outside Eau Claire, other projects, such as the long-awaited development of Altoona’s River Prairie site, are finally getting started.

On the flipside, the share of vacant retail and office space in the Chippewa Valley grew in 2012 (though in both cases we fared better than the nation as a whole), and many indicators of personal economic health remained lackluster (more on those later). “I don’t think the recovery here has been necessarily better than anywhere else in the state,” says Scott Hodek, a regional economist for the state Department of Workforce Development. He notes that the recession is fading into the past but that the recovery has only been gradual. “The trend is upward, but it’s slow,” he says. “That’s pretty much around the country too.”

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Rising momentum in home sales and construction as well as retail sales bodes well for the local economy after a long weak patch during the Great Recession and its aftermath. While the economy isn’t exactly booming, the steady growth still is cause for celebration. Hopefully it will eventually translate into better incomes for residents.


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GUIDANCE AND SOURCES

Mike Schatz, City of Eau Claire economic development administrator; Scott Hodek, economist, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development; Eric Jamelske, UW-Eau Claire economics professor; City of Eau Claire Community Development Department; Chippewa Valley Center for Economic Research and Development; Commonweal Development Corp.