Eye On Housing
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 224,000 in June, while the unemployment rate edged up to 3.7%. Residential construction employment increased by 6,000 in June, after an increase of 3,800 jobs in May. The total construction industry (both residential and nonresidential) employment reached to 7.5 million, by adding 21,000 jobs in June. According to the Employment Situation Summary for June,… Read More ›
Data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that construction job openings increased in April, consistent with the ongoing challenge of the availability of labor for builders. The estimated number of job openings in the construction sector increased to 404,000, a post-Great Recession high. Moreover, this marks a significant gain over the 258,000 openings estimated in April… Read More ›
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 75,000 in May, while the unemployment rate remained at 3.6%. Residential construction employment increased by 5,200 in May, after a decline of 1,600 jobs in April. The total construction industry (both residential and nonresidential) gained 4,000 jobs in May. According to the Employment Situation Summary for May, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics… Read More ›
Housing markets in the Midwest have experienced weakness in recent quarters. For example, single-family permits posted a 3.6% decline in year-to-date data when comparing December 2018 level with December 2017 in the Midwest. Single-family permitting for the first four months of 2019 are down 11.3% in the Midwest when compared to the opening months of 2018. As of April, new… Read More ›
Data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that construction job openings increased in March, consistent with the ongoing challenge of the availability of labor for builders. The estimated number of job openings in the construction sector increased to 360,000, a post-Great Recession high. Moreover, this marks a significant gain over the 234,000 openings estimated in March… Read More ›
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 263,000 in April, while the unemployment rate declined to 3.6%. Residential construction employment increased by 600 in April, after the increase of 11,200 jobs in March. The total construction industry (both residential and nonresidential) gained 33,000 jobs in April. According to the Employment Situation Summary for April, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics… Read More ›
A new NAHB study presents the most recent and comprehensive estimates of home building employment, including self-employed workers, by state and congressional district. NAHB Economics estimates that out of 10.3 million people working in construction in 2017, more than 4 million people worked in residential construction, accounting for 2.6% of the US employed civilian labor force. Despite steady job gains… Read More ›
Total payroll employment increased by 196,000 in March, while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.8%. Residential construction employment increased by 12,200 in March, after the decline of 8,100 jobs in February. The total construction industry (both residential and nonresidential) gained 16,000 jobs in March. According to the Employment Situation Summary for March, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics… Read More ›
After rebounding from the effects of the partial government shutdown in February, consumer confidence unexpectedly dropped in March. This is the fourth time decline in the past five months. The Consumer Confidence Index, reported by the Conference Board, fell by 5.6% from 131.4 to 124.1 in March, driven mainly by the sharp decline in the Present Situation Index, which fell… Read More ›
After significant data revisions for 2018, new data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that construction job openings remained near a cycle high as of January, an indication that the skilled labor shortage continues into 2019. The open position rate (job openings as a percentage of total employment plus current job openings) held steady at 3.9%. The… Read More ›