Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of CommerceSlow but steady gains mark Milwaukee-area business activity indicators for August, as 12 of 22 available indicators pointed upward for the month versus year-ago levels, according to a monthly report by MMAC. August’s aggregate is up from the revised 10 improvements posted in July.
“The aggregate count of improved indicators recovered a bit in August, going from less than a majority that improved in July to more than half in August,” said Bret Mayborne, the MMAC’s economic research vice president. “Recent results appear to suggest that the local economy is riding the fence. How it breaks in future months is an open question, but efforts to raise interest rates and slow economic growth are likely to weaken expectations for the future.”
Highlights of the data include:
Nonfarm employment growth in the Metro area trended upward in August increasing at a 1.4% rate over year-ago levels (to 853,000). August’s gain surpasses the 1% rise posted in July and matches the year-to-date average increase over 2022’s first eight months.
Job growth was strongest in the construction, mining & natural resources sector, up 9% year-over-year, and the professional & business services sector, up 5%. Six of 10 major industry sectors registered year-over-year job gains in August. On the negative side the financial activities sector saw the steepest such drop, down 5.9% vs. one year ago.
Metro Milwaukee recorded a 3.9% unemployment rate in August (not seasonally adjusted), down 0.6 percentage points from one year ago. The metro area’s rate ranks higher than both Wisconsin’s 3.3% and the nation’s 3.8% rates.
Manufacturing jobs rose 1.8% in August vs. year-ago levels, this sector’s strongest gain in four months. The length of a manufacturing production worker’s average workweek fell 7.5% (to 36.9 hours) while these workers’ average weekly earnings rose 7.6% (to $1,052) and average hourly earnings increased 16.3% (to $28.50.)
Rising interest rates have led to double-digit, year-over-year declines in local housing and real estate indicators. Metro area existing homes sold fell 13.2% vs. one year ago to 1,709 while mortgages recorded in Milwaukee County fell 28.1% to 2,746.
Passenger levels at Mitchell International Airport rebounded from a small 0.8% decline in July. August passenger totals rose 3.4% vs. year-ago levels to 467,638, and have increased 33.1% over the course of 2022’s first eight months.
Original source can be found here.
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