News in covid 19

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has posted its Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for October 2020. According to the JOLTS report the number of job openings was little changed from September at 6.7 million, which is a rate of 4.5%, as of the last business day of October.

After three successive months of gains, the Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) fell 1.7 points in November to a reading of 80.0.

The Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index, which is a composite measure of financial health and economic expectations, reached a reading of 53.3 last week.

A closer look at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) total nonfarm payroll employment report, which was released on Friday (12/4), with a specific focus on construction reveals that employment in the overall construction sector increased by 27,000 in November, after a revised increase of 72,000 jobs in October.

Statistics Canada is reporting today (12/4) that employment in Canada increased by 62,000 (+0.3%) in November, following an increase of 84,000 (+0.5%) in October. From May to September employment in Canada grew by an average of 2.7% per month.

In a recent Zillow Research article, it was being reported that 38.5% of new-construction homes purchased in October 2020 had yet to begin construction. That is 10% higher than October 2019 and the highest level since 2005.

According to a study released by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, COVID-19 is having an especially pronounced impact on the affordability of housing among low-income individuals. The recently released American Community Survey reveals an ongoing downshift in cost burdens in 2019.

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered how many Americans work and go to school. Instead of large office complexes and classrooms, many Americans continue to work and receive educational instruction from their homes.

Dealers responding to FEA’s Weekly Order Survey are reporting that their sales are in close alignment with traditional mid-November levels. A small number of dealers did mention that a few projects that had been postponed in Q3 were in the process of beginning to ramp up with materials scheduled to begin shipping to the jobsite early to mid-next week.

According to Stats Canada the pace of job growth slowed in October as the economy added close to 84,000 (+0.5%) jobs in October compared with 378,000 in September. Self-employment increased for the first time (+1.2%; +33,000) for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.