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MMAC report shows continued economic downturn
Published July 3, 2008 - BizTimes Daily
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Eight of 20 May indicators of metro area economic activity registered improvement from year-ago levels, reflecting a continued economic downturn, according to a report by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC).
The number of improved indicators recorded for May was unchanged from April levels.
"The number of improved indicators held steady in May, but the trend in metro jobs weakened from previous months," said Bret Mayborne, economic research director for the MMAC. "Area job declines steepened in a number of major industry sectors, pushing the overall job decrease to its largest decline in the current employment downturn."
Job declines in the metro area continued with nonfarm employment falling for the seventh consecutive month by 0.5 percent from the same month a year ago.
May job declines were registered in six of the 10 major industry sectors, with five of the declining sectors posting a weaker employment trend in May than they did in April. The largest percentage decline was registered in the construction, mining & natural resources sector, down 3.6 percent in May. May employment decreases also were posted in the manufacturing (down 2.3 percent), transportation & public utilities (down 2.1 percent), information (down 1.1 percent) and financial activities (down 1 percent) sectors.
The four major industry sectors that managed to post May job gains were educational & health services (up 1.8 percent), government (up 0.9 percent), professional & business service (up 0.7 percent) and other service sectors (up 0.7 percent).
Despite falling employment totals, the number of unemployed fell. May's seasonally unadjusted jobless rate of 4.4 percent fell from the 5-percent rate posted one year ago, but still ranks slightly higher than the state's 4.2-percent rate. The national rate rose to 5.2 percent.
On the other hand, new unemployment compensation claims have increased in four of the first five months of the year, rising to 5,548 in May, up 10.4 percent increase from one year ago.
Area housing and real estate indicators continued on their long-term downward trend in May. Against year-ago levels, metro area existing home sales fell for the 23rd consecutive month, while mortgages recorded in Milwaukee County dropped for the 19th consecutive month. Existing home sales totaled 1,074 in May, a 23.9-percent decline, and mortgages recorded numbered 3,903, down 14.4 percent.
Both transportation-related indicators posted healthy gains for May. Air passenger usage of General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee rose at a 14.3-percent pace to 733,862, following April's 0.4-percent increase. Air passenger numbers have increased in each of the past 14 months, but that trend is likely to be affected soon by escalating airfares as the airline industry retrenches.
New-car registrations rose for the first time in four months. Registrations numbered 4,174 in May, a 6.1-percent increase from one year ago.
The value of signed construction contracts, as reported by F.W. Dodge for April, was $179.3 million, up 13.6 percent from April 2007.
Consumer prices nationally, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 4.2 percent in May (vs. May 2007) to 216.632 (1982-
84 = 100). The Milwaukee area CPI-U reached 195.571 for the second half of 2007, a 2.7-percent increase from 2006's second half.
