The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 745,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, February 27, 2021 — an increase of 9,000 from the previous week’s revised level.
Wood Markets News
Canadian Building Permits Rise 8.2% in January 2021
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) is reporting that in January 2021, there was a record high total value of building permits issued, increasing 8.2% to $9.9 billion and exceeding the previous record of $9.6 billion set in April 2019.
Year-Over-Year Announced Job Cuts by U.S. Based Companies Decline 57% in February 2021
According to the latest released report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CG&C), Inc, a global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm, planned job cuts announced by U.S. based companies fell -57% to 34,531 in February from 79,552 in January.
Mortgage Applications Increase in the Week Ending 26th February 2021
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey for the week ending February 26, 2021, the Market Composite Index — a measure of mortgage loan application volume — increased 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
Residential Furniture Sales Increase 27% Year-Over-Year in December
Smith Leonard’s latest Monthly Furniture Insight survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors reported that December sales were 27% higher year-over-year. The 27% increase was higher than November’s 17% increase, which had been the first month in the past 6 months that orders had slowed somewhat.
ADP Reports Private Sector Employment Increased by 117,000 Jobs in February
According to the February ADP® National Employment Report™ nonfarm private sector employment private sector employment increased by 117,000 jobs from January to February. The ADP National Employment Report is produced by the ADP Research Institute® in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics.
Pioneering Wood Construction is in Vancouver B.C.’s DNA
The Minister of Digital Government has announced a grant of $648,250, provided through Natural Resources, Canada’s Green Construction through Wood program, for Fast + Epp, a structural engineering firm from Vancouver, toward the construction of their head office.
Year-Over-Year Private Residential Construction Spending up 21% in January
Further analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Construction Spending data for January 2021, provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), reveals that total private residential construction spending rose 2.5% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $713 billion, reaching a new record high.
Real GDP in Canada Increased 2.3% in Q4 2020 with Housing Investments Helping to Lead the Way
Statistic Canada (StatsCan) is reporting that real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.3% in Q4 of 2020, following record fluctuations in the previous two quarters. In 2020, real GDP shrank -5.4%, the steepest annual decline since quarterly data were first recorded in 1961.
Australia’s February Home Prices Increase at a Pace Last Seen in August 2003
CoreLogic is reporting that Australian homes prices in February 2021, rose at a pace not seen since August of 2003. As government incentives and record low borrowing rates drew more buyers into the housing market and raised concerns about them overheating. The CoreLogic data showed national home prices rose 2.1% in February, from January when they added 0.9%.