News in end use

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today (12-3-21) that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 210,000 in November. This growth follows increases of 531,000 in October, 194,000 in September, 235,000 in August, 1.1 million in July, and 962,000 in June. Nonfarm payroll employment has increased by 18.5 million since April 2020 but is down by -3.9 million.

Across the 48 states that reported construction sector job information (both residential as well as non-residential construction), 33 states reported an increase in October compared to September. Conversely, 13 states lost construction sector jobs.

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending December 2, 2021. The PMMS reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.11% with an average 0.6 point, up slightly from last week when it averaged 3.10%. A year ago, at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.71%.

According to the latest released Job Cut Report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CG&C), Inc, a global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm, U.S. based employers announced job cuts fell by -34.8% in November to 14,875 from 22,822 in October. This is the lowest monthly total since May 1993, when 14,086 were reported. November’s total is -77% lower year-over-year (Nov. 2021 vs. Nov. 2020), when 64,797 cuts were announced.

The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 222,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, November 27, 2021. This is an increase of 28,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The 4-week moving average was 238,750 — a decrease of 12,250 from the previous week’s revised average.

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported today (12-1-21) that the total value of building permits increased 1.3% to $10.3 billion (CAD) in October. Construction intentions in the non-residential sector were up 4.2%, while the residential sector inched -0.1% lower.

On Wednesday (12-1-21), The U.S. Census Bureau reported that total construction spending during October 2021 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $1,598.0 billion, 0.2% above the revised September estimate of $1,594.8 billion. The October figure is 8.6% above the October 2020 estimate of $1,471.1 billion.

According to the November ADP® National Employment Report™, nonfarm private sector employment increased by 534,000 jobs from October to November. 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.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey (WMAS), for the week ending November 26, 2021, which includes adjustments for the Thanksgiving holiday, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) decreased -7.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.

According to analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the volume of 1–4-unit residential construction loans made by FDIC-insured institutions increased 6% during Q3 of 2021. The volume of loans rose by $4.9 billion during the quarter.