Job growth in March pulled back slightly from a strong February, adding 215,000 jobs, or 2%, year-over-year. This is down from the revised increase of 245,000 in February, but was the 73rd consecutive month of gains. Wages posted another strong annual increase, with average hourly earnings growing by 2.3% year-over-year, likely due to continued tightening of the labor market.
Despite the solid March job numbers, the year-over-year job growth rate continues to slow from a post-recession high of 2.3% in February of 2015. While strong, the January to March 2016 job gains are failing keep up with the year-over-over gains seen at this time last year. This slowing growth reflects a maturing economic cycle. However, the impacts of slowing job growth on the housing market may be negligible in the short-run, given historically tight inventory.
While job growth in the real estate services sector remains slightly higher than the pace of national job growth, at around 2.3%, the number of existing homes sales per employee in February is showing recent volatililty at 3.3, falling from 3.5 sales per employee in January but up from 3.2 in November (note that February is the most recent existing home sales release from the National Association of Realtors). This recent volatility was likely a result of closing-delays from new lending regulations. While the number of sales per real estate employee hovers near post-recession highs, Feburary’s number of 3.3 remains well below pre-recession highs of approximately 5 sales per employee per month. The relatively low number of sales per real estate employee is likely due to the sharp drop in existing inventory over the past four years.
Existing Home Sales and Homeownership Highlights:
- Payrolls increased by 215,000 jobs, or 2%, year-over-year.
- Average hourly earning increased by 2.3% year-over-year.
- Job growth in the real estate sector continues grew at 2.3% year-over-year, but home sales per real estate employee remains low.