Quikrete Industry Dashboard
The national unemployment rate held declined ever so slightly to 3.5 percent, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The unemployment rate has held steady in a narrow range between 3.5 percent and 3.7 percent since March.
The bureau reported Friday morning that employment in construction increased by 28,000 in December, as specialty trade contractors added 17,000 jobs. Construction employment increased by an average of 19,000 per month in 2022, little different than the average of 16,000 per month in 2021.
The Associated Builders and Contractors released the following analysis of the report:
“This employment report indicates that contractors collectively remain in expansion mode despite rising costs of capital and fears of recession,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Consistent with upbeat assessments of construction activity late last year, nonresidential contractors continue to ramp up staffing in the context of elevated backlog. In, ABC‘s Construction Confidence Index contractors indicated that both sales and employment would continue to rise over the next six months.
Elsewhere on the Quikrete Industry Dashboard, the American Automobile Association’s tally of gas prices (the average for a gallon of regular) of $3.29 is is down for the month, and the same as a year ago.
The Stock Roundup shows a bear market, with not a single ticker symbol in the top right quadrant of growth for the month and the year.
Elsewhere on the Dashboard and weighed down by rising mortgage rates, existing home sales declined for the tenth consecutive month, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.
Meanwhile, housing starts in November slipped 0.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.427 million compared to the revised October estimate of 1.434 million, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported.
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Coming next: Advanced monthly sales estimates for NAICS 444 businesses in the month of December will be released by the Department of Commerce on Jan. 18.