Population growth in the United States amounted to just 0.12% in 2021 (between July 2020 and July 2021), the slowest rate on record dating back to 1900. The sharp slowdown in population growth over the past two years is almost entirely due to pandemic-related factors,…
In the first quarter of 2022, non-real estate secured consumer credit, per the Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit report, grew at a seasonal adjusted annual rate of 9.7%, with revolving debt growing at 21.4% and nonrevolving at 6.1%. Total consumer credit currently stands at…
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 428,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.6%. The April’s data indicate that the labor market remained healthy despite surging inflation, tighter financial conditions, and the war in Ukraine. Construction industry employment (both residential and non-residential)…
Following a 25 basis points increase in March, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee unanimously approved a further 50 basis points increase for the federal funds target rate, the largest increase for the rate in more than two decades. The Fed also provided details for…
The construction labor market remains tight, as the industry sees a rising number of job openings year-over-year. The count of open construction jobs increased slightly to 396,000 unfilled positions in March. The highest measure in the history of the data series (going back to late…
The Census Bureau recently released its 2021 Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) annual population estimates. Between 2020 and 2021, 251 (65%) of the 384 MSAs within the 50 states and the District of Columbia experienced population increases, albeit small on percentage terms. The MSAs’ combined total…
