Rock County economy rolling into 2025

BELOIT — The Rock County economy was roaring heading into the last few months of 2024 — and the number of new projects in the works may mean the good times will be extended for quite a while.

James Otterstein, Rock County economic development manager, compiles a quarterly economic snapshot called the Rock Ready Index.

In the third quarter, the index showed:

* A record low unemployment rate of 2.5% at the end of September.
* Home sales were up 7.5% and the average home sale price was 6.6% higher than the third quarter of 2023.
* The amount of sales and use taxes collected by Rock County retailers hit an all-time high of $5.3 million, up 4.6% from 2023.

The numbers that really stood out was Otterstein’s project tracker. These are prospective developments in the very early stages not ready to be announced.

In the third quarter, Rock County officials began working on new projects that, if they were to come to fruition, would add 4.9 million square feet of space and 3,752 new jobs. That’s the highest number for both of those indicators since at least before 2022.

Otterstein cautioned that the future projects are very preliminary and dominated by two big potential developments.

“Based on past election year cycles, most of the proposals will likely not materialize — anywhere,” he said. “While I cannot delve into specifics, I can share that (the new projects in the pipeline were) dominated by manufacturing interests — particularly those with ties to the food/beverage industry.”

Rock County in general and Beloit in particular has a strong food/manufacturing base. Kerry Inc., Hormel, Frito-Lay and Campbell’s Snacks are among Beloit’s top employers.

“Considering the strong, as well as historical, food/beverage footprint in the region, coupled with the area’s close proximity to major population centers, it’s not surprising that additional and/or similar interests have identified this area as a future food/beverage investment opportunity location,” he said.

Otterstein said the project pipeline numbers do not include the Ho-Chunk Casino now under construction in Beloit. He said that will be included in the fourth quarter data.

The Ho-Chunk Casino, which eventually will include a convention center and 18-story hotel, won’t be ready to open until the summer of 2026, but the project is going to pour more juice into the economy. As many as 800 people will be working on the project daily during peak construction, many of them renting apartments or hotel rooms in Beloit.

The only negatives in the third quarter Rock Ready Index was that job postings are declining. The number of new jobs posted in July, August, September was down 16.2% from the third quarter of 2023.

“Labor demand has been primarily muted by weakening sales/orders and then, to a lesser extent, by increased and strategic investments in automation,” Otterstein said. “Meanwhile, employers are hiring — just not at the same aggressive pace.”