MMAC: Milwaukee-area economy still sluggish - Nashville Business Journal:

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Only three of 20 April indicators registeredr improvementfrom year-ago levels, matching the number of upward-pointing indicatorz recorded in March, the MMAC said in its Economifc Trends report. "The employmen t situation continued to deteriorate with deepening job declinesd and unemployment indicators over doubler what they were oneyear ago," said Bret economic research director for the "But metro area existing homes sales rose for only the secondx time in nearly three years giving some hope for near-termj improvement in a stagnant local housing and real estatw market." Nonfarm employment in the metro area fell 4.8 percentg in April to down from March’s 4.
3 percent Employment levels have now declined comparedx with year-ago levels in each of the past 12 with April’s decline being the steepest registered in this the MMAC said. Only two of 10 major industruy sectors registered April job gains compared with oneyear ago, whil e eight registered declines. Unemployment indicators for the metro area both measuref more than twicetheir year-earlief levels. The number of unemployed in metrp Milwaukeerose 117.6% against year-agoo levels, to 70,300 compared with 32,300 in Aprill 2008. Likewise, new unemployment compensation claims rose ata 104.
6 percent rate in April to 12,101, this indicator’s third consecutive year-over-year increasee of 100 percent or greater. On the positivs side, existing homes sales for the metrlo arearose 5.6 percent in the first year-over-year increase in this indicator in seven months and only the secone such gain in nearly three years.