News in end use

Redfin reported on Thursday that for the first time in the past four months, a homebuyer on a $2,500 monthly budget can afford a $400,000 home. This is a result of the average daily mortgage rate declining to 5.99%, the first sub-6% average since mid-September, according to Mortgage News Daily.

A closer look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics nonfarm payroll report for January, with a focus on the construction sector and additional analysis provided by the NAHB, reveals that employment in the overall construction sector increased by 25,000 in January, following a gain of 26,000 in December.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 517,000 in January. The average monthly gain in 2022 was 401,000. The unemployment rate dipped to 3.4% and continues to hold in a narrow range that was established early in 2022.

Statistics Canada reported today that monthly seasonally adjusted value of building permits in Canada declined 7.3% in December to $10.3 (CAD). On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), the total value of building permits dropped 7.4% to $6.1 million.

A closer look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Opening and Turnover Survey report for December, with a focus on the construction sector and additional analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders, reveals that the construction job openings rate increased by 5% month-over-month.

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® for the week ending February 2, 2023. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.09%, down from last week when it averaged 6.13%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year rate averaged 3.55%.

According to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Job Cuts Report released today, US-based employers announced 102,943 job cuts in January, a 136% increase from the 43,651 announced job cuts in December. It is up 440.0% from the 19,064 job cuts announced in January 2022.

The US Department of Labor is reporting that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 183,000 during the week ending on Saturday, January 28, 2023. This is a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 186,000.

On Wednesday, the US Census Bureau reported that total construction spending during December was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,809.8 billion, 0.4% below the revised November estimate. The December figure is 7.7% above the December 2021 estimate.

On Wednesday, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) for December. According to the JOLTS report, as of the last business day in December, the number and rate of job openings increased to 11.0 million and 6.7%, respectively.