Eye On Housing
In May, the unemployment rate posted a surprise decline to 13.3% and total payroll employment rose by 2.5 million as the economy partially reopened. Residential construction employment rose by 226,000 in May to 2.7 million, partially reversing a loss of 422,000 in April. Total construction industry (both residential and nonresidential) employment rebounded to 7.0 million in May. In the Employment… Read More ›
Backward-looking data illustrate the degree of damage done by the sudden stop of the U.S. economy due to the public health response associated with the coronavirus. For example, there were 4,300 net job losses in residential construction in March, followed by a staggering 415,000 losses in home building and remodeling in April. The leading edge of this job loss was… Read More ›
Total payroll employment fell by 20.5 million in April and the unemployment rate soared to 14.7%. Residential construction employment decreased by 415,000 in April to 2.5 million. This drop brought the current level of residential construction employment back to the level in December 2015 (2,538,000 jobs). Total construction industry (both residential and nonresidential) employment dropped by about 1 million to… Read More ›
Given the growing number of economic impacts from mitigation efforts associated with the coronavirus, early 2020 labor market data is of much reduced analytical value. However, the data help to describe where the economy was before the shocks of March and the potential for gains in an eventual rebound we expect to take hold during the fourth quarter. February data… Read More ›
Total payroll employment fell by 701,000 in March and the unemployment rate rose to 4.4%. The March loss reflected the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. Residential construction employment decreased by 4,300 in March, after a revised increase of 24,100 in February. Total construction industry (both residential and nonresidential) employment totaled about 7.6 million in March. The Bureau of Labor Statistics… Read More ›
As the U.S. economy struggles under the burden of the coronavirus pandemic, economists are discussing how a recovery might unfold once social distancing and other measures begin to succeed. A recent NAHB article illustrates the role home building can play in a recovery by generating jobs. The article published updated estimates of the national economic impact of home building. The… Read More ›
Given the growing number of economic impacts from mitigation efforts associated with the coronavirus, early 2020 labor market data is of reduced value. However, the data help to describe where the economy was before the shocks of March. January data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that construction job openings posted year-over-year decline at the… Read More ›
The U.S. job market remained strong in February. Total payroll employment increased by 273,000 and the unemployment rate was 3.5% for the month. Residential construction employment increased by 21,900 in February, after a revised increase of 22,400 in January. Total construction industry (both residential and nonresidential) employment totaled about 7.6 million in February. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the… Read More ›
The labor market started the new year with a solid gain. Total payroll employment increased by 225,000 and the unemployment rate was 3.6% in January. Residential construction employment increased by 20,200 in January, the largest gain in the past twelve months. Total construction industry (both residential and nonresidential) employment totaled about 7.6 million in January. The Bureau of Labor Statistics… Read More ›
Data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that construction job openings posted a monthly decline in November and a substantial decrease on a year-over-year basis. The estimated number of job openings declined from the October total (326,000) to 214,000 in November, after reaching a post-Great Recession high of 434,000 in April. The November 2019 count of… Read More ›