Eye On Housing
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported payroll employment expanded by 211 thousand in November and revisions added 35 thousand to estimates for the prior two months. The household survey showed strong gains in both the labor force (273 thousand) and persons employed (244 thousand). The unemployment rate held steady at 5.0%. Payroll gains are back on track with earlier… Read More ›
Eighty percent of remodelers reported a shortage of finished carpenters (and 41 percent said the shortage was serious), according to special questions on NAHB’s Remodeling Market Index (RMI) survey in the 3rd quarter of 2015. That’s 8 percentage points higher than NAHB remodelers were reporting just a year ago. The RMI survey asked remodelers about availability of labor in the 12 categories recommended by Home… Read More ›
The labor market rebounded in October from unexpected weakness in August and September but are the signals of recent months indicating strength, weakness or volatility? The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported payroll employment expanded by 271 thousand in October, a solid recovery from the 145 thousand average in August and September. Revisions added 12 thousand to earlier estimates for… Read More ›
Today’s employment report was disappointing on all fronts: weak payroll growth, downward revisions to prior months, and another decline in the participation rate. The unemployment rate was unchanged only because the labor force shrank faster than the number of employed persons. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that payroll employment expanded by 142 thousand in September, well below expectations…. Read More ›
Today’s employment report offers a Rorschach test for Federal Reserve officials. The report tells less about the labor market than reactions to it will tell about observers’ thinking. It is sufficiently ambiguous that monetary policy hawks will see in it what they need to go forward with a September rate hike, while doves will see it as evidence to hold… Read More ›
The count of construction job openings fell somewhat in June, albeit from an upwardly revised estimate for the month of May. Post-revision, the May count of unfilled construction positions was second only to the month of March. The number of unfilled jobs in construction remains high, even as hiring slowed for the residential construction sector in recent months. According to the… Read More ›
The Employment Situation report for July offered more evidence of steady progress in the labor market recovery, the accumulated improvement that may convince the Federal Reserve that it’s time to start raising interest rates. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that payroll employment expanded by 215 thousand in July. Revisions to May and June added 14 thousand additional jobs…. Read More ›
Consumer sentiment and consumer confidence are two indexes showing consumers’ perceptions of current business, income and employment conditions, as well as their expectations for the future’s economy. In July, both the University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment and the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index declined unexpectedly after the solid growth in June. Despite the monthly declines the indexes have… Read More ›
Strong job gains in April and May were revised downward by 60 thousand and the unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage points based on a reversal of the labor market expansion in May. Overall, the employment situation in June was decent, but the recovery from the weakness in March was less vibrant than originally estimated. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)… Read More ›
A strong jobs report for May adds strength to the argument that the weakness in March was an aberration. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that payroll employment expanded by 280 thousand in May. Job gains in March were revised upward by 34 thousand to 119 thousand and April was revised downward 2 thousand to 221 thousand. The unemployment… Read More ›