Eye On Housing
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for February today. Payroll employment expanded by 227 thousand from January to February and upward revisions added a total of 61 thousand to the December and January gains. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.3 percent, based on strong gains in both employment and the labor force, according to… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘employment’
2011 JOLTS Data – First Year Since 2006 for Construction Job Growth
The February release (December 2011 data) of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) confirms a prediction we made earlier in the year. 2011 was the first year for the construction sector for which total hires exceeded total job separations since 2006. For the overall economy, total hiring for December 2011 was… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for January – Moving In The Right Direction
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for January today. Annual revisions complicate the release, but the news is basically good. Payroll employment rose by 243 thousand in January, and the November and December figures were revised upward by a total of 60 thousand. The unemployment rate declined to 8.3 from 8.5 percent. For the January… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for December – Cautiously Optimistic
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for December today. From the establishment survey, payroll employment increased by 200 thousand, with private payrolls adding 212 thousand and government payrolls declining by 12 thousand. The October and November figures were revised, lowering payroll employment by 8 thousand for the period. From the household survey, the unemployment rate… Read More ›
Construction Jobs Continue Slow Growth per October JOLTS Data
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data for October from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal that the national economy, while sluggish, continues to trend better with respect to job openings. Total job openings for all non-farm sectors were essentially unchanged at 3.3 million. The job openings rate of 2.4% for October remains at levels last consistently experienced in 2008. The… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for November – Unemployment Rate Declines, But Is It Real?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for November today and the big news is the decline in the unemployment rate from 9.0 percent in October to 8.6 percent in November. That would be great news if the decline came from people finding jobs, but more than half the decline came from people leaving the labor… Read More ›
Consumer Confidence Improves in November, but Remains Weak
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey revealed a healthy increase in consumer confidence during the month of November. Both reports indicate consumers view current conditions more favorably and were more optimistic about the future, although the gains observed in the University of Michigan index were smaller. Unfortunately, even with these improvements,… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for October – Not Good News
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 ›
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 ›