Landscape Architect Articles

May's Top Stories06-08-16 | Economic News

May's Top Stories
New Home Sales Set Post-recession High

New home sales in April came in at a 619,000-unit annual rate, which set a new post-recession high, bested March's numbers by 16.6 percent and April 2015's numbers by 23.8 percent. This good report after several months of less than stellar results was accompanied by the news that the previous three months' numbers were revised higher, bringing year-to-date sales up 9.0 percent.

Construction employment between April 2015 and April 2016 grew in 42 states and the District of Columbia according to the Associated General Contractors of America. Representatives of that organization say that they expect companies in many parts of the country to add jobs, and that lack of qualified workers is still a concern.

For the second quarter of this year, the Nonresidential Construction Index hit 61.3, which is 5.7 points above the first quarter. In specific areas of the report, the index for the overall economy was up 8.9 points at 65.4, construction business tallied 76, the highest score in four quarters, but the scores for costs of materials and labor dropped, 13 and 12 points respectively, indicating that contractors are expecting to pay more for both.