Eye On Housing
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for February. The establishment survey showed payroll employment expanded by 175,000 in February and the prior two months were revised upward for a combined increase of 25,000. From the household survey, the unemployment rate reversed last month’s decline, rising back to 6.7% from 6.6% in January. The labor force… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘labor market’
The Employment Situation for January – The Road to Nowhere
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for January. The report was disappointing overall but had a mix of good, bad and extenuating circumstances to keep the labor market outlook in limbo for a second month. The establishment survey showed payroll employment expanded by 113,000 in January, following an upwardly revised 75,000 increase in December. The… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for November – The Fed’s Next Move Is Getting Closer
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for November. Payroll employment expanded by 203,000 and the prior two months were revised for a net increase of 8,000. The pattern in job growth is beginning to look like the substantial and sustained improvement in the labor market that the Federal Reserve has identified as the condition for… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for October – Employed Or Unemployed, That Is The Question
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for October and the results are all over the map. Because of different definitions used in the surveys, the impact of the partial federal government shutdown was negligible in the establishment survey but substantial in the household survey. And unrelated to the shutdown and furloughed federal workers there was… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for September – Pre-Shutdown Slowdown
The government shutdown caused a data blackout at the federal government statistical agencies. The lights are back on but the view could be better. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) had the employment data collected but the processing and release was delayed by the shutdown. The Employment Situation report for September was softer than expected. From the establishment survey, total… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for August – Employment at the Fed
A mixed jobs report starts the drum-roll for the September meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), as analysts speculate over whether the committee will announce the start of tapering the Fed’s bond purchase program (QE3) or hold off until the December meeting. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for August. From the establishment… Read More ›
Number of Open Construction Jobs Remains High
Government employment data indicate that the count of construction sector job openings for the months of 2013 is the highest since 2008. While the increase in unfilled positions is consistent with the uptick in construction sector activity, particularly for home building, the data reflect only modest increases in total employment thus far. For the construction sector, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for June – Food For Thought
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 ›
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 ›