News in end use

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.

Fannie Mae today (1-7-22) released their Home Purchasing Sentiment Index® (HPSI) for December. According to the report, the HPSI declined 0.5 points to a reading of 74.2 in December. This occurred as consumers continue to report conflicting views of homebuying and home-selling conditions.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today (1-7-22) that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 199,000 in December, following increases of 210,000 in November, 531,000 in October, 194,000 in September, 235,000 in August, 1.1 million in July, and 962,000 in June.

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported today (1-7-22) that employment in Canada increased by 55,000, or 0.3%, in December. The growth was led by gains in the goods-producing, construction, and educational services sector. Among males aged 25 to 54, employment increased by 63,000 (1.0%).

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending January 6, 2022. The PMMS reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.22% with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.11%. A year ago, at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.65%.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.