Labor Market Softens in April
Job growth slowed in April, and the unemployment rate increased to 3.9%, suggesting a cooling…
Labor Market Softens in April
Job growth slowed in April, and the unemployment rate increased to 3.9%, suggesting a cooling labor market after a strong start to the year. Additionally, wage growth continued to slow. In April, wages grew at a 3.9% year-over-year (YOY) growth rate, down 0.7 percentage points from a year ago. It marks the lowest YOY wage…
States with Highest and Fastest Rising Construction Wages, 2024
Reflecting persistent long-term labor challenges, wages in construction continue to rise, often outpacing and exceeding typical earnings in other industries. Not seasonally adjusted (NSA) average hourly earnings (AHE) in construction increased 5% since a year ago and approached the $38 mark in March 2024, according to the latest Current Employment Statistics (CES) report from the…
Fed on Hold with Limited Inflation Progress
The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee held constant the federal funds rate constant at a top target of 5.5% at the conclusion of its April-May meeting. In its statement, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) noted: Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. Job gains have remained strong,…
Private Residential Construction Spending Dips in March
NAHB analysis of Census data shows that private residential construction spending was down 0.7% in March, after increasing 0.7% in February. It stood at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of $884.3 billion. Spending on single-family construction dropped 0.2% in March. This is the first monthly decline after ten straight months of gains, as elevated mortgage…
Large Decline for Open Construction Jobs in March
Due to tightened monetary policy, the count of total job openings for the entire economy has trended lower over the last year. This is consistent with a somewhat cooler economy that is a positive sign for future inflation readings. However, the number of open jobs for the aggregate economy was relatively unchanged in March per…
Home Prices Continue to Rise for February
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index (HPI), reported by S&P Dow Jones Indices, rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98% for February. This was following an adjusted 3.73% rate for January. This marks the fourth consecutive monthly rate increase from November 2023. On a year-over-year basis, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S….