Eye On Housing
Author Archives
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Residential Building Worker Wages Grow Rapidly
Average hourly earnings for residential building workers have been growing fast recently, driven by the tightening construction labor market. Last Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the unemployment rate declined to 3.9% in December, the lowest rate since the pandemic. As the labor market remains tight, wages have increased rapidly, particularly in residential building sector. According to… Read More ›
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Job Gains Slow in December
Job gains slowed sharply for the second straight month in December as the Omicron variant began to spread. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 199,000 in December, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%. Construction industry employment (both residential and non-residential) totaled 7.6 million, with 22,000 construction jobs added in December. Residential construction lost 4,100 jobs while non-residential construction employment rose by… Read More ›
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Inflation Surges in November
In November, consumer prices increased by 6.8% from a year ago. It marks the largest year-over-year gain since June 1982. Supply-chain constraints and strong consumer demand related to the pandemic and the reopening of the economy have contributed to recent price increases in some sectors. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by… Read More ›
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Job Gains Decelerate in November
While job gains decelerated in November, the unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% and the labor force participation rate increased to 61.8%, the highest reading since March 2020. The increase in the labor force participation rate indicates that more people are returning to the labor force, a necessary requirement for additional hiring. Construction industry employment (both residential and non-residential) totaled 7.5… Read More ›
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Home Price Appreciation Decelerates in September
In September, national home prices grew at a slower but still unsustainable pace. Locally, 14 out of 20 metro areas reported that they realized a deceleration in home price growth in September. This month’s data indicates that housing market is cooling slightly as housing affordability concerns persist. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, reported by S&P Dow… Read More ›
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Consumer Prices Post the Largest Gain in Three Decades
Compared to a year ago, on a not seasonally adjusted basis, consumer prices increased by 6.2% in October, the largest year-over-year gain since December 1990. Supply-chain constraints and strong consumer demand as the economy reopened have contributed to recent price increases. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.9% in October on… Read More ›
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Job Gains Accelerate in October
Job gains picked up in October after two consecutive months of a slowdown. Total payroll employment rose by 531,000 and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.6% in October. Construction industry employment (both residential and non-residential) totaled 7.5 million, with 44,000 construction jobs added in October. Both residential construction (+10,900) and non-residential construction (+33,000) had job gains for the month. Residential… Read More ›
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Economic Growth Decelerates in the Third Quarter of 2021
Real GDP growth slowed to a moderate pace in the third quarter of 2021, as supply-chain disruptions continued, the cost of living rose, and 4.3 million workers quit their jobs. According to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.0% in the third quarter of… Read More ›
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New Home Sales Post Solid Gain in September
Contracts for new, single-family home sales increased 14% to an 800,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in September according to estimates from the joint release of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau. On a year-over-year basis, the September estimate was 18% lower than a year ago, when an unsustainable rebound took hold in… Read More ›
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Consumer Prices Rise in September
Inflation accelerated in September, as prices for food and shelter showed notable gains. Federal Reserve officials described the current inflation run as “transitory”, and attributed recent increases largely to supply-chain constraints and a surge in consumer demand as the economy reopened. And they expected “inflation pressures to ease as the effect of these transitory factors dissipated.” The Bureau of Labor… Read More ›