Milwaukee area employment reached a new high in June, according to the latest monthly economic indicator report from the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.
Metro Milwaukee area employment was 890,500 in June, which exceeded the previous employment record for the area of 887,000, set in June of 2000.
The biggest employment gains in the area were in the education and health services (up 4.7%), leisure and hospitality (up 3.5%) and the “other services” (up 1.5%) sectors.
Despite that good news, most of the economic indicators tracked by the MMAC showed year-over-year declines. Only 10 of the 22 tracked economic indicators for the area posted gains, down from 12 that posted gains in May.
“The pace of year-over-year employment growth in June was relatively strong but the total number of indicators trending upward remains low for the current growth period,” said Bret Mayborne, the MMAC’s economic research director.
Notable area economic indicator declines for June included:
- New car registrations in the area fell 22.7% in June to 1,640.
- Existing home sales in the metro area fell 5.4% in June to 1,843.
- The number of mortgages in Milwaukee County dipped 0.8% in June to 2,236.
- Weekly earnings for manufacturing production workers fell 3.5% to $942.90 and hourly earnings fell 3.7% to $22.45.