News in end use

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 187,000 in August. The unemployment rate increased 0.3 percentage point to 3.8%.

Statistics Canada reported that real GDP was nearly unchanged in 2023Q2, following a 0.6% increase in Q1. Final domestic demand increased by 0.3%.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.18%, down from last week when it averaged 7.23%, Freddie Mac reported.

Personal income (PI) increased 0.2% in July. Disposable personal income (DPI) increased less than 0.1%. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased 0.8%.

US-based employers announced 75,151 job cuts in August, a 217% increase from July, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 228,000 during the week ending August 26th, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week.

The National Association of Realtors® Pending Homes Sales Index increased 0.9% month-over-month in July to a reading of 77.6. Year-over-year, contract signing declined 14.0%.

Mortgage loan application volume increased 2.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 2.1% in Q2, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ “second” estimate. This follows a real GDP increase of 2.0% in Q1.

Nonfarm private sector employment increased by 177,000 jobs in August and annual pay was up 5.9% year-over-year, according to the ADP® National Employment Report™.