Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 44 states in March compared to the previous month, while six states and the District of Columbia saw a decrease. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 303,000 in March, following a gain of 270,000 jobs in February. On a month-over-month basis, employment…
Housing starts fell in March with interest rates somewhat higher than expected last month as the latest inflation readings failed to show improvement. Builders are also still facing higher supply-side costs and tighter lending conditions. Overall housing starts decreased 14.7% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.32 million units, according to a…
Over the first two months of 2024, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 155,236. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is an increase of 38.4% over the February 2023 level of 112,131. Year-to-date ending in February, single-family permits were up in all four regions. The range of permit increase spanned…
Inputs to residential construction, goods less food and energy, increased for the fifth straight month, according to the most recent Producer Price Index (PPI) report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The index for inputs to residential construction, goods less food and energy, represents building materials used in residential construction. The non-seasonally adjusted…
Residential building workers’ wage growth accelerated to 6.2% in February. After a 0.3% increase in June 2023, the year-over-year (YOY) growth rate for residential building worker wages have been trending up over the past eight months. The recent acceleration in wage growth was mainly due to the ongoing skilled labor shortage in the construction labor…
Job growth accelerated in March, following a strong gain in February. Furthermore, the unemployment rate fell to 3.8%. March’s jobs report shows that the labor market remains resilient despite elevated interest rates. The strong job numbers likely reduce prospects for a Federal Reserve rate cut in the near-term (NAHB has just two rate cuts in…
