Eye On Housing
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for October today describing October’s net addition of 80 thousand to payroll employment as trending up. The decline in the unemployment rate to 9.0 percent from 9.1 was characterized as little changed. I agree with the unemployment rate call because the increase of 277 thousand in the number of… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘employment’
Employment Data Show Increase in Construction Job Openings
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data for August from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal that the national economy, while sluggish, continues to trend better with respect to job openings. In particular, the job openings rate average for the middle of 2011 (2.4%) is the highest since the middle of 2008. However, the hiring rate, at 3.1%, has hovered at… Read More ›
Employment Data Show Sluggish Growth
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data for July from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show an economy that is still adding jobs, but at a rate that is too slow to significantly improve the current economic landscape, particularly for housing. On a national basis, the JOLTS data continue to show that job openings are growing. While layoffs ticked up… Read More ›
Employment Data Indicate a Slowing Construction Labor Market
Bureau of Labor Statistics data from the June release of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) are consistent with the economic weakness currently reflected in significant stock market declines. Nonetheless, we continue to forecast that 2011 will be a year of a small net expansion of construction sector employment. However, job openings for construction fell in June, perhaps suggesting some slowing of… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for July – Better Than (Very Low) Expectations
Friday’s Employment Situation report for July from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) beat expectations, but only because expectations were so low. The net gain in total payroll employment of 117 thousand looks good after the dismal May and June figures of 25 thousand and 18 thousand, respectively, reported last month. The May and June numbers were revised upward to… Read More ›
Construction Spending Declines despite Small Gain in Homebuilding
Private residential construction spending slipped 0.3% on a month-to-month basis in June, which represents the fourth such decline of the current calendar year. On a year-over-year basis, total spending activity for the private residential construction sector contracted 2.1%. June 2011 marked the 11th consecutive month in which spending fell compared to the previous year. The initial estimate for May was… Read More ›