News in end use

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported today (3-11-22) that employment increased by 337,000 (1.8%) in February, more than offsetting losses that coincided with stricter public health measures in January. The unemployment rate dropped 1.0 percentage points to 5.5% in February 2022.

The University of Michigan today (Friday 3-11-22), released its preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) for March. The Index of Consumer Sentiment declined to a reading of 59.7 in March, down from 62.8 in February. This is a month-over-month decrease of -4.9%.

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending March 10, 2022. The PMMS reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.85% with an average 0.8 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.76%.

According to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), which analyzes data from the ICE Mortgage Technology, mortgage credit availability increased in February.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Thursday (3-10-22), that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.8% in February on a seasonally adjusted annual basis.

The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 227,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, March 5th, 2022. An increase of 11,000 from the previous week’s revised level.

An in-depth look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) January 2022 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), with a focus on construction labor and additional analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders, reveals that the construction labor market started the year with a rising number of job openings.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey (WMAS), for the week ending March 4, 2022, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) increased 8.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increase 10.0% compared with the previous week.

On Wednesday (3-9-22), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) for January 2022. According to the JOLTS report, as of the last day in January, the number of job openings were at 11.3 million (a rate of 7.0%). The number of job openings was little changed in all four reporting regions.

Fannie Mae on Monday (3-7-22) released its Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) for February 2022. The HPSI for February increased by 3.5 points to 75.3 in February. However, affordability constraints continue to drive consumers’ perception of the housing market.