Job growth remained solid in August, with 315,000 net job growth. However, the unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 3.7% in August, as the labor market participation rate expanded. “Softer labor market conditions” are expected in the near future as the Fed raises interest rates aggressively into 2023 to bring inflation lower. The headline…
Home price growth decelerated in June and home prices grew at a single-digit annual rate for the first time in the past 23 months. As housing demand is softening, with declines for existing home sales and new home sales and weakened single-family starts, home price growth is expected to slow. In July, all the 20…
According to NAHB analysis of the Survey of Construction (SOC), new single-family starts expanded at a fast pace in 2021. Nationally, 1,133,145 new single-family units were started in 2021, 14% higher than the units started in 2020. It marked the fastest growth rate since 2013 and the highest count of starts since the Great Recession….
Job growth accelerated in July amid higher inflation and growing economic pressures. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 528,000, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5% in July. Construction industry employment (both residential and non-residential) totaled 7.7 million and has exceeded its February 2020 level. In July, residential construction gained 14,100 jobs, and non-residential…
The U.S. economy definitively slowed in the first half of 2022 as the Federal Reserve tightened financial conditions. Real GDP fell for the second straight quarter, while the Fed raised interest rates by 75 basis points for the second consecutive month to reduce inflation pressure. Despite these negative elements, the job market remained solid amid…
Lumber prices have been on a roller-coaster ride over the past two years and reached to an all-time high price of $1,515 per thousand board feet in the week ending May 21, 2021, as reported by Random Lengths. However, despite higher lumber prices and ongoing supply-chain issues, wood framing remains the most dominant construction method…
