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1 month ago | 
eyeonhousing.org | Natalia Siniavskaia |Robert Dietz |Jing Fu
As the number of housing units under construction peaked in 2023, the industry set another record employing close to 11.4 million people, including self-employed workers. NAHB estimates that out of this total, 4.7 million people worked in residential construction, accounting for 2.9% of the U.S. employed civilian labor force.
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1 month ago | 
eyeonhousing.org | Robert Dietz |Jing Fu |Natalia Siniavskaia
After a period of slowing associated with declines for some elements of the residential construction industry, the count of open construction sector jobs remained lower than a year ago, per the January Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The number of open jobs for the overall economy increased from 7.51 million in December to 7.74 million in January.
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2 months ago | 
eyeonhousing.org | Robert Dietz |Natalia Siniavskaia
Single-family built-for-rent construction posted year-over-year declines for the fourth quarter of 2024, as a higher cost of financing crowded out development activity. This slowdown is similar to the deceleration of multifamily construction in recent quarters. According to NAHB’s analysis of data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, there were approximately 15,000 single-family built-for-rent (SFBFR) starts during the fourth quarter of 2024.
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Jan 13, 2025 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Jing Fu |Robert Dietz |Natalia Siniavskaia |Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington
The U.S. labor market finished 2024 with solid job growth and a decrease in the unemployment rate. In December, wage growth slowed. Wages grew at a 3.9% year-over-year (YOY) growth rate, down 0.3 percentage points from a year ago. Wage growth is outpacing inflation, which typically occurs as productivity increases. According to the Employment Situation Summary reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 256,000 in December.
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Dec 11, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Natalia Siniavskaia |Jing Fu |Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington
As reported in a previous post, immigrants make up one in four workers in the construction industry. The share of immigrants is significantly higher (32.5%) among construction tradesmen. In some states, reliance on foreign-born labor is particularly evident, with immigrants comprising over 40% of the construction workforce in California and New Jersey, and 38% – in Texas and Florida.
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Dec 6, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Jing Fu |Robert Dietz |Natalia Siniavskaia
Employment rebounded sharply in November after strike- and hurricane-related disruptions in October. The unemployment rate rose one percentage point to 4.2% after holding at 4.1% for two months in a row. In November, wage growth remained unchanged from the previous month. Wages grew at a 4.0% year-over-year (YOY) growth rate, down 0.2 percentage points from a year ago. Wage growth is outpacing inflation, which typically occurs as productivity increases.
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Nov 21, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Rose Quint |Natalia Siniavskaia
In another sign of America’s ongoing housing affordability crisis, the National Association of Home Builders /Wells Fargo Cost of Housing Index (CHI) found that in the third quarter of 2024, a family earning the nation’s median income of $97,800 needed 38% of their income to cover the mortgage payment on a median-priced new home. Low-income families, defined as those earning only 50% of the median income, would have to spend 75% of their earnings to pay for the same new home.
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Nov 20, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Natalia Siniavskaia |Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington |Jing Fu
Reflecting the sharp increase in net immigration of recent years, the number of new immigrants joining the construction industry rose substantially in 2022. According to the latest American Community Survey (ACS), the industry managed to attract close to 130,000 new workers coming from outside the U.S. to help with persistent labor shortages. For comparison, this inflow surpasses the combined number of new immigrants who joined the industry in the two years prior to the pandemic.
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Oct 31, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Catherine S. L. Koh |Natalia Siniavskaia |Fan-Yu Kuo |Jing Fu
Approximately 27% of the national housing stock consists of multifamily homes—defined as residential buildings with multiple separate housing units within one structure. According to the 2023 American Community Survey 1-year estimates, these units range from small duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes (2 to 4 units) to medium-sized buildings (5 to 49 units) and large complexes (50 or more units).
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Oct 24, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Na Zhao |Natalia Siniavskaia |Fan-Yu Kuo |Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington
In 2023, the total number of second homes was 5.7 million, accounting for 4% of the total housing stock, according to NAHB estimates of the 2023 American Community Survey. Second homes have been in a steady decline over the past few years, from 7.15 million in 2020, to 6.5 million in 2022, dropping to 5.7 million in 2023. The distribution of second homes across the U.S. reveals important geographic patterns, particularly when examined at the congressional district level.
