News in end use

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in December. Payroll employment increased by 4.5 million in 2022—an average monthly gain of 375,000. The unemployment rate dipped to 3.5%.

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported on Friday (1-6-23) that employment in Canada rose by 104,000, or 0.5%, in December. Employment had previously peaked in May 2022, followed by a downward trend that lasted through August. As a result of cumulative gains since then, employment in December was 130,000, or 0.7%, above its May level.

A closer look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for November reveals that the construction labor market in November experienced another month of shrinking job openings, as the housing market continued to cool.

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® for the week ending January 5th. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.48%, up from last week when it averaged 6.42%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year rate averaged 3.22%.

According to the November ADP® National Employment Report™ released today, nonfarm private sector employment increased by 235,000 jobs in December, and annual pay was up 7.3%, year-over-year.

According to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. (CG&C) Job Cuts Report released today, US-based employers announced 43,651 job cuts in December, down 43% from the 76,835 announced job cuts in November.

The US Department of Labor is reporting that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 204,000 during the week ending on Saturday, December 31, 2022. This is decrease of 19,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 223,000.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Application Survey for the two weeks ending December 30th, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) decreased 13.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from two weeks earlier.

On Wednesday, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) for November 2022. As of the last business day in November, the number of job openings edged slightly higher to 10.5 million from 10.3 million in October.

The US Census Bureau reported that total construction spending during November 2022 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,807.5 billion, 0.2% above the revised October estimate of $1,803.2 billion. The November figure is 8.5% above the November 2021 estimate.