News in end use


Rental Costs Outpace Those of Home Ownership in 2021

ATTOM Data Solutions, the Irvine, California-based provider of nationwide property data, released on Friday (1-7-22) their Rental Affordability Report (RAR) for 2021. The RAR shows that owning a median-priced home is more affordable than the average rent on a three-bedroom property. Some 58% of the 1,154 U.S. counties analyzed for the report reveal that major home ownership expenses consume a smaller portion of average local wages than renting.

US-Based Employers Job Cuts Increase in December

According to the latest Job Cut Report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CG&C), Inc, job cuts announced by U.S. based employers rose 28.1% in December to 19,052 from the 14,875 job cuts announced in November. However, the number remains -75.3% below the 77,030 job cuts announced in December of 2020. In Q4 of 2021, U.S. companies announced a total of 56,749 job cuts, up 7.4% from the announced Q3 total of 52,560, but down -74.5% from the 222,249 cuts announced in the same quarter in 2020.

Weekly Jobless Claims Decline in the Week Ending January 1, 2022

The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 207,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, January 1, 2022. This is an increase of 7,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The 4-week moving average was 204,50 — an increase of 4,750 from the previous week’s revised average.

Canadian Residential Building Permits Increase in 7 Out of 10 Provinces in November

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported today (1-5-22) that the total value of building permits in November increased 6.8% to $11.2 billion (CAD). According to StatsCan, 7 out of 10 Canadian provinces reported increases, with Alberta leading the way with a 20.6% jump. Overall construction intentions in the residential sector increased by 12.0%, while the non-residential sector experienced a -3.4% decline.

Construction Employment Increases Year-Over-Year in November but Still Lags Behind Pre-Pandemic Levels

According to analysis provided by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), construction employment increased in nearly two out of three U.S. metro areas year-over-year, between November 2020 and November 2021. AGC officials welcomed the news for the overall construction industry but noted that it will be challenging for construction levels to return to pre-pandemic levels amid the current tight labor market conditions.

ADP Reports Private Sector Employment Increased by 807,000 Jobs in December but Still Trails Pre-Covid-19 Levels

According to the December ADP® National Employment Report™, nonfarm private sector employment increased by 807, 000 jobs from November to December. The ADP National Employment Report is produced by the ADP Research Institute® in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics. The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally adjusted basis.