News in end use

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 220,000 during the week ending December 2nd, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 219,000.

Mortgage loan application volume increased 2.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

On Wednesday, the Governing Council of the Bank of Canada has decided to hold its benchmark interest rate steady at 5%, CBC reported.

Nonfarm private sector employment increased by 103,000 jobs in November, and annual pay was up 5.6% year-over-year, according to the ADP® National Employment Report™.

The construction labor market remained active and tight in October, according to NAHB analysis of Census Bureau data.

The number of commercial mortgage delinquencies increased for the third consecutive quarter in Q3, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.

As of the last business day in October, the number of job openings declined to 8.7 million, a loss of 617,000 job openings. The job opening rate decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 5.3%.

At a seasonally adjusted annual pace of $884 billion, total private residential construction spending was 0.7% higher year-over-year, according to the Census Bureau and NAHB.

Ontario small businesses missed out on over $16 billion (CAD) in revenue opportunities in 2022 because they had to turn away contracts or sales due to a labor shortage, according to a report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business reviewed by Ontario Construction News.

Total construction spending during October was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,027.1 billion, 0.6% above the revised September estimate.