At Long Last, Job Growth Emerges

(NAHB April 16, 2010) To many, the economic recovery so far has seemed to be more talk than reality. Economists have been rolling out one positive statistic after another to suggest that the recovery process is underway, but that hasn’t been sufficient to convince those clamoring to know where the jobs are.

Unfortunately, employment is a lagging indicator, so we’ve had to wait for any improvement on this crucial front for housing and the economy; the good news is that at long last some encouragement can be derived from the job statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported for March the first significant increase in monthly employment since December 2007 — with a gain of 162,000 jobs at a seasonally adjusted rate. Further, revisions to previous months showed that the situation had stabilized, with virtually no change in employment from December to March following average losses of more than 200,000 per month last fall. CLICK HERE FOR MORE