Eye On Housing
Weekly initial jobless claims increased to 1.4 million in the week ending July 18, breaking the downward trend since April 4. Continuing claims, which lags initial jobless claims by one week, declined to 16.2 million the week ending July 11. The increase in initial jobless claims reflected another wave of closures and the pause of reopening procedures in some states… Read More ›
Weekly initial jobless claims declined slightly in the week ending July 11 and continuing claims, which lags initial jobless claims by one week, declined to the lowest level since the week ending April 11. The data indicate that people return to work, albeit slowly, as states reopen economic and social activity. The labor market has gradually improved, but it has… Read More ›
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Weekly Application shows an uptick in applications for the week ending July 10, 2020. The Market Composite Index increased by 5.1% from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis, owing mainly to the surge in refinancing activity of 11.9% compared to a week before. The increase was partially offset by the slowdown of… Read More ›
After three straight months of declines, both the CPI and the “core” CPI rebounded in June as the economy reopened. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.6% in June on a seasonally adjusted basis, after three straight monthly declines. It was the largest monthly increase in the CPI since August 2012…. Read More ›
The Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit Report shows trends in consumer credit, excluding loans secured by real estate, through May 2020. In May, consumer credit decreased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.3% from the previous month, with revolving debt1 decreasing by 28.6% and nonrevolving debt2 increasing by 2.3 percent. Consumer credit totaled $4.1 trillion on a seasonally… Read More ›
Weekly initial jobless claims continued to decrease in the week ending July 4 and continuing claims, which lags initial jobless claims by one week, declined to about 18.1 million in the week ending June 20. The data indicate that the labor market is gradually recovering from the COVID-19 crisis as states reopen and workers return to work, albeit slowly. The… Read More ›
In June, total payroll employment rose by 4.8 million and the unemployment rate dropped to 11.1%. The June data indicate that labor market is recovering from the COVID-19 crisis, though the road to a full recovery may be long. Residential construction employment rose by 83,200 in June to 2.8 million. Total construction industry (both residential and nonresidential) employment rebounded to… Read More ›
While weekly initial jobless claims decreased for the 13th straight week, continuing claims, which lags initial jobless claims by one week, rose by 59,000 in the week ending June 20. The labor market is gradually recovering from the COVID-19 crisis as workers return to work, albeit slowly, and a full recovery of labor market may take a while with an… Read More ›
Despite the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) tracked 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rate moving further downward, by one basis point from the previous week to a new record low of 3.29%, mortgage activity slowed, per the latest Weekly Application Survey. The Market Composite Index, representing purchasing and refinancing activities, decreased by 1.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, with… Read More ›
Weekly initial jobless claims totaled 1.48 million in the week ending June 20 and continuing claims, which lags initial jobless claims by one week, declined by 767,000 to 19.52 million in the week ending June 13. The data indicate that the labor market is gradually recovering from the COVID-19 crisis as workers return to work, albeit slowly, and a full… Read More ›