Jobs
By Tory Barringer | 05/17/2012
Findings released Thursday in Trulia's Metro Movers Report indicated that homebuyers are prioritizing factors like climate above job markets when searching for new homes. The report, which examines home searches from April last year through March this year, showed that long-distance searchers tend to search in areas with higher unemployment and slow job growth if it means a more favorable climate. The report also showed that searchers looking for a home within 100 miles tend to look for suburban or smaller markets.
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By Mark Lieberman, Five Star Institute Economist | 05/17/2012
First time claims were unchanged at 370,000 for the week ended May 12 after the number of initial claims filed for the previous week was revised upward, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists had expected initial claims would decrease to 365,000. The Labor Department had initially reported 367,000 claims filed for the week ended May 5. The revision turned that report to an increase of 2,000 from a previously reported decline of 1,000. Continuing claims – reported on a one week lag – increased 18,000 to 3,265,000.
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By Mark Lieberman, Five Star Institute Economist | 05/11/2012
First time claims for unemployment insurance resumed their steady decline dipping 1,000 to 367,000 for the week ended May 5, the Labor Department reported Thursday after the previous week’s total was revised upward by 3,000 to 368,000, the highest level in five months. Economists had expected initial claims would decrease to 366,000. Continuing claims – reported on a one week lag – fell to 3,229,000), a (drop) of 61,000 from the prior week's revised figure of 3,290,000.
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By Ryan Schuette | 05/10/2012
Jittery investors retreated to U.S. Treasury debt this week after upsets in French and Greek elections, a movement that yet again drove mortgage rates to all-time lows. Freddie Mac found Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage broke records by falling to 3.83 percent, down from 3.84 percent last week. Finance Web site Bankrate.com, which releases a survey at the same as Freddie each week, found similar results, with the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage hitting 3.2 percent and the jumbo 30-year loan falling to 4.54 percent, both new lows.
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By Mark Lieberman, Five Star Institute Economist | 05/04/2012
The nation added 115,000 jobs in April, far below expectations and a drop from March’s revised payroll growth of 154,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The closely watched unemployment rate dipped again to 8.1 percent – its lowest level since January 2009 (7.8 percent) when President Obama took office – a function of a sharp drop in the nation’s labor force. Payroll gains for February and March were revised, adding 19,000 to the February numbers and 34,000 to March. The average workweek remained at 34.5 hours.
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By Mark Lieberman, Five Star Institute Economist | 05/03/2012
First-time claims fell a surprising 27,000 to 365,000 for the week ended April 28, the Labor Department said Thursday. Revisions drove the prior week's report up by 4,000 to 392,000, the highest level in five months. Economists had expected initial claims would decrease to 378,000. Continuing claims – reported on a one week lag – fell to 3,276,000, a drop of 53,000 from the prior week's revised figure of 3,329,000. The decline in continuing claims was the first in three weeks. The drop in first time claims was the largest since the report for the first week of May 2011.
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By Ryan Schuette | 04/27/2012
Life insurer MetLife announced Thursday that it will exit the reverse mortgage origination business, with plans to sell the division responsible for these loans to Nationstar Mortgage LLC. It was not immediately clear how much Nationstar paid to buy the reverse mortgage portfolio from MetLife. The life insurer also said that it would cease receiving any new reverse mortgage loan applications and registrations. MetLife said that retail banking, including reverse mortgages, accounted for less than 2 percent of operating earnings for the company last year.
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By Mark Lieberman, Five Star Institute Economist | 04/12/2012
First time claims for unemployment insurance jumped 13,000 to 380,000 for the week ended April 7, the Labor Department reported Thursday, the highest level since the end of January. At the same time the previous week's report was adjusted upward by 10,000, wiping out what had been a four-year low and showing an increase of 4,000 initial claims instead of an originally reported drop of 6,000 for the week ending in late March. Economists had expected initial claims would increase - from the original report - to 359,000. The week-over-week jump in first time claims was the second straight of the year.
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By Mark Lieberman, Five Star Institute Economist | 04/11/2012
The economy continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace from mid-February through late March, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday in its periodic Beige Book. The central bank reported faster and solid growth in Kansas City and Minneapolis but moderate or modest growth in Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco Cleveland, and St. Louis. New York reported economic growth picked up somewhat while Philadelphia and Richmond cited improving business conditions. Banking conditions remained stable, the Beige Book said, with modest improvements in demand for lending.
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By Ryan Schuette | 04/10/2012
Mortgage rates fell to lows not seen in a month on the heels of an underwhelming jobs report and concerns that Spain may follow Greece into default-scenario territory. Real estate Web site Zillow found interest rates for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage zigzagging across the country, just as it fell from 3.81 percent to 3.73 percent this week. Rates for the 15-year loan hovered near 2.95 percent, while those for 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages slumped to 2.56 percent. The Labor Department flattened expectations by reporting that the economy added only 120,000 jobs in March.
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