1. The State of the La Crosse / 7 Rivers Economy
Ronald A. Wirtz
Regional Outreach Director

2. Disclaimer minneapolisfed.org
The views expressed here are the presenter's and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis or the Federal Reserve System.
minneapolisfed.org

3. The Federal Reserve System
Central bank of the U.S.
Established by act of Congress in 1913
What does a central bank do?
Provides banking & other services for country's government and commercial banking system
Supervise and regulate banks (holding cos.)
Offer financial services (clear transactions)
Set monetary policy (dual mandate)

4. Federal Reserve Structure
Federal Reserve System
12 “District” banks carry out operating duties of Federal Reserve
Monetary policy
BOG Chair, Janet Yellen

5. 12 Federal Reserve “Districts”

6. Minneapolis Fed’s Ninth District
You are here
Our job is to supervise banks, offer financial services, and understand this regional economy for the purposes of setting monetary policy.

7. So, how is the La Crosse region doing? YOU are the judge!
I’m the prosecution & defense, giving …
a variety of economic indicators
tabulated over various timeframes
compared to nearby metro regions
YOU are the judge!

8. First let’s set some context
Metro comparison group
2015 populations
Dubuque – 97,125
Eau Claire – 165,636
La Crosse – 136,985
Rochester – 213,873
On to the charts!

13. A closer look at GDP/output
Goods producing
Natural resources & mining
Construction
Manufacturing
Service providing
Retail & wholesale trade
Utilities
Information
Financial activities
Professional & business services
Health care & education
Leisure & hospitality

15. Index:
2001 output = 100

20. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

22. A few additional thoughts on median income
A strong goods-producing economy is not necessarily an anecdote to stagnant wages
Eau Claire has a higher and growing share of goods-producing GDP, but arguably the worst income trend of the group
Rochester is a great example of strong wages in a service-based economy
But … there are a lot of health care eggs in Rochester’s basket

26. Wait a second…
… very low unemployment … reports of strong hiring demand and local construction activity = slow job growth? What’s going on? Look for clues in labor supply

30. Some evidence of rising participation rates

31. Labor force participation rate (%)

32. Take-aways Comparatively speaking, La Crosse economy is:
Doing better than the state economy
Steadier, but also slower than nearby, peer metros
Unemployment is low
Job growth has been modest, held back by slow population & labor force growth
Housing growth modest; faster-growing cities building more, esp. multi-family housing
Labor force participation rate appears on the rise; unknown affect on La Crosse, but should help
Comparison metros here offer a pretty high bar

33. Looking for more? minneapolisfed.org
Fedgazette: Ninth District economy
The Region: Monetary policy, economic theory and new research
Community Dividend: Low- and moderate income research and information

34. Questions? Thank you! Twitter: @RonWirtz @fedgazette @MinneapolisFed
(Spoiler: I cannot answer questions on interest rates and other monetary policy. Sorry!)
@fedgazette
@MinneapolisFed