Eye On Housing
Housing markets in the Midwest have experienced weakness in recent quarters. For example, single-family permits posted a 3.6% decline in year-to-date data when comparing December 2018 level with December 2017 in the Midwest. Single-family permitting for the first four months of 2019 are down 11.3% in the Midwest when compared to the opening months of 2018. As of April, new… Read More ›
Data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that construction job openings increased in March, consistent with the ongoing challenge of the availability of labor for builders. The estimated number of job openings in the construction sector increased to 360,000, a post-Great Recession high. Moreover, this marks a significant gain over the 234,000 openings estimated in March… Read More ›
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 263,000 in April, while the unemployment rate declined to 3.6%. Residential construction employment increased by 600 in April, after the increase of 11,200 jobs in March. The total construction industry (both residential and nonresidential) gained 33,000 jobs in April. According to the Employment Situation Summary for April, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics… Read More ›
A new NAHB study presents the most recent and comprehensive estimates of home building employment, including self-employed workers, by state and congressional district. NAHB Economics estimates that out of 10.3 million people working in construction in 2017, more than 4 million people worked in residential construction, accounting for 2.6% of the US employed civilian labor force. Despite steady job gains… Read More ›
Total payroll employment increased by 196,000 in March, while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.8%. Residential construction employment increased by 12,200 in March, after the decline of 8,100 jobs in February. The total construction industry (both residential and nonresidential) gained 16,000 jobs in March. According to the Employment Situation Summary for March, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics… Read More ›
After rebounding from the effects of the partial government shutdown in February, consumer confidence unexpectedly dropped in March. This is the fourth time decline in the past five months. The Consumer Confidence Index, reported by the Conference Board, fell by 5.6% from 131.4 to 124.1 in March, driven mainly by the sharp decline in the Present Situation Index, which fell… Read More ›
After significant data revisions for 2018, new data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that construction job openings remained near a cycle high as of January, an indication that the skilled labor shortage continues into 2019. The open position rate (job openings as a percentage of total employment plus current job openings) held steady at 3.9%. The… Read More ›
After a strong gain, monthly growth in payroll employment slowed sharply in February. Total payroll employment increased by 20,000 in February, while the unemployment rate decreased to 3.8%. Residential construction employment decreased by 10,900 in February, after the 22,500 increase in January and the decline of 900 jobs in December 2018 due to the downwardly revised December data. The total… Read More ›
Despite the housing-focused slowdown during the second half of 2018, the count of unfilled jobs in the construction sector surged in December. According to the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and NAHB analysis, the number of open construction sector jobs increased to a cycle high of 382,000 in December. This is significantly higher than the December 2017 estimate of… Read More ›
The U.S. economy entered 2019 with a strong gain in payroll employment. Total employment increased by 304,000 in January, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4.0%, reflecting the impact of the partial government shutdown. Residential construction employment increased by 23,900 at the beginning of 2019, the largest gain since February 2018. The total construction industry (both residential and nonresidential)… Read More ›