News in end use

Construction sector employment increased by 9,000 jobs in April, following a revised gain of 40,000 in March, the BLS and NAHB reported.

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 175,000 in April. This is below the average monthly gain of 242,000 over the prior 12 months.

For the second consecutive year, real GDP grew in every province in Canada, except Newfoundland and Labrador, albeit at a slower pace than 2022 for most areas.

Residential building construction costs increased 0.8% in Q1, following a 1.1% increase in 2024Q4.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.22%, up from last week when it averaged 7.17%, Freddie Mac reported.

Construction sector employment is cooling in step with other sectors of the US job market, the BLS and NAHB reported.

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 208,000 during the week ending April 27th, unchanged from the previous week’s revised level.

US-based employers announced 64,789 job cuts in April, a 28% decline from the 90,309 job cuts reported in March, Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported.

According to the  ADP® National Employment Report™, released on Wednesday (5-3-24), private sector employment increased by 192,000 jobs in April and annual pay was up 5.0%, year-over-year.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA), for the week ending Friday, April 26, 2024, the Market Composite Index decreased 2.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 1.4% compared with the previous week.