MMAC: Milwaukee-area economy still sluggish - Business First of Buffalo:

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Only three of 20 April indicators registered improvementfrom year-ag o levels, matching the number of upward-pointing indicators recorded in the MMAC said in its Economic Trends "The employment situation continued to deteriorate with deepening job declines and unemployment indicators over double what they were one year said Bret Mayborne, economic research director for the "But metro area existing homes sales rose for only the second time in nearly threes years giving some hope for near-ternm improvement in a stagnant localp housing and real estatwe market." Nonfarm employment in the metro area fell 4.8 percenyt in April to 812,300, down from March’s 4.
3 percent Employment levels have now decliner compared 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 majord industry sectors registered April job gainz compared with oneyear ago, while eight registered Unemployment indicators for the metro area both measuredc more than twice their year-earlier levels. The number of unemployee in metro Milwaukeerose 117.6%% against year-ago levels, to 70,300 compared with 32,300 in Aprik 2008. Likewise, new unemployment compensation claimz rose ata 104.
6 percenty rate in April to 12,101, this indicator’e third consecutive year-over-year increase of 100 percenr or greater. On the positive side, existinv homes sales for the metro arearose 5.6 percentg in April, the first year-over-year increase in this indicatof in seven months and only the second such gain in nearlh three years.