The Labor Department was out Friday morning with its monthly jobs report for July, and it came in slightly above expectations. Forbes reports on the report and its potential impact on real estate markets.
The Labor Department’s much-anticipated July jobs report released Friday morning offers a mixed bag for real estate. The upside is that a tight labor market will continue to underpin the housing market like a safety net for now. However, a weak increase in construction jobs promises little relief for the ongoing housing shortage and affordability struggles first-time buyers face.
According to the report, the U.S. labor market pulled off a solid, albeit not outstanding, performance in July with the addition of 164,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%. Wage growth also increased one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.2%, exceeding expectations.
Amid its ups and downs in 2019, employment growth has cooled overall from an average of 223,000 monthly new jobs in 2018 to about 172,000 this year. July’s report also downwardly revised June’s spectacular 224,000 count to 193,000 (a big disappointment) while May’s worrisome numbers fell from 72,000 to 62,000.
