MMAC: Milwaukee-area economy still sluggish - Pittsburgh Business Times:

stony-coating.blogspot.com
Only three of 20 Aprilk indicators registered improvementfrom year-aglo levels, matching the number of upward-pointinh indicators recorded in March, the MMAC said in its Economifc Trends report. "The employment situatiomn continued to deteriorate with deepening job declinexs and unemployment indicators over double what they were one year saidBret Mayborne, economic research director for the "But metro area existing homes sales rose for only the secons time in nearly three years giving some hope for near-terj improvement in a stagnant local housing and real estate market." Nonfarkm employment in the metro area fell 4.8 percenf in April to 812,300, down from March’s 4.
3 percenty decrease. Employment levels have now declined compareedwith year-ago levels in each of the past 12 months, with April’ s decline being the steepest registered in this the MMAC said. Only two of 10 majorf industry sectors registered April job gains comparex with oneyear ago, whils eight registered declines. Unemploymentt indicators for the metro area both measuref more than twicetheir year-earlier levels. The number of unemployed in metroi Milwaukeerose 117.6% against year-ago levels, to 70,300 comparee with 32,300 in Aprilp 2008. Likewise, new unemployment compensation claims rose ata 104.
6 percent rate in April to 12,101, this indicator’xs third consecutive year-over-year increase of 100 percenrt or greater. On the positive existing homes sales for the metro arearose 5.6 percen t in April, the first year-over-year increase in this indicatort in seven months and only the seconrd such gain in nearly three years.