Eye On Housing
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for June. Total payrolls expanded by 195,000, with the private sector adding 202,000 and government subtracting 7,000. The previous two months were revised up by a total of 70,000. Homebuilding payrolls expanded by 5,200. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.6%. The labor force expanded by 177,000 and the… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘labor market’
Immigrant Workers in Construction
A new study from NAHB Economics examines where construction workers come from by analyzing the most recent 2011 American Community Survey (ACS). The results show that immigrants have been an important source of new recruits to the construction industry—accounting for 22 percent of the overall labor force. The inflow of foreign born labor into construction is cyclical and coincides with… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for February – Mixed, But With Homebuilding on Top
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for February and the results look good but are more mixed than they look. The establishment survey shows payroll employment increased by 236,000, a decent number, but once again private sector payrolls increased (by 246,000) while the government sector continued to shrink (a loss of 10,000). The estimate for… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for December – Gaining Strength? Not Really.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for December on Friday. The establishment survey indicated payroll employment increased by 155,000 with private sector payrolls increasing by 168,000 and a loss of 13,000 in the government sector. Estimates for the prior two months were revised upward by a net of 14,000. The household survey indicated the unemployment… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for November – Still Positive, Still Weak
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for November noting that Hurricane Sandy did not affect the national employment and unemployment figures in today’s release. The establishment survey indicated payroll employment increased by 146,000 with private sector payrolls increasing by 147,000 and a loss of 1,000 in the government sector. Estimates for both September and October… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for October – Continued Positive But Subpar Gains
The Employment Situation report for October released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Friday continued the recent pattern of positive but subpar gains in the labor market. The establishment survey reported payroll employment expanded by 171,000 based on an increase of 184,000 in private sector payrolls and a decline of 13,000 in the government sector. August and September estimates… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for September – Weak Payrolls and Noisy Unemployment Rate
The Employment Situation report for September released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) today surprised analysts with a 0.3 percentage point decline in the unemployment rate, from 8.1% in August to 7.8% in September. Unlike last month when the decline in the unemployment rate from 8.3% to 8.1% was attributable to a shrinking labor force, the September decline was… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for August – Wrong Again
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for August today. Nonfarm payroll employment extended its troublingly lackluster streak adding a meager 96 thousand jobs, down from a revised 141 thousand last month. The private sector added 103 thousand while the government sector shed another 7 thousand. Figures for the prior two months were revised downward by… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for July – Mixed
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for July. The top line numbers show total nonfarm payrolls increased by 163 thousand, with private payrolls adding 172 thousand and government subtracting 9 thousand. Revisions to the prior two months lowered employment by 6 thousand for those months. The unemployment rate ticked up a tenth to 8.3 percent,… Read More ›
Mixed Readings on Consumer Confidence in July
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey reported consumer confidence moving in opposite directions this month. The CCI indicated a modest gain while the University of Michigan survey showed a slight decrease in consumer confidence versus last month. While the month-to-month changes for each index have not been entirely consistent with one… Read More ›