Is The Recession Over?
According to NAHB, there are multiple signs that the nation’s economic picture is improving, or at least stablizing.
NAHB’s Eye on the Economy reports positive signs in employment, retail sales, gross domestic product and Housing Market Index, among others. But all remain shaky at best.
The nation’s unemployment rate fell from double digits to 9.7 percent in January, and temporary service jobs increased for the fourth month in a row.
On the housing front, residential construction remains at a low level, although the numbers continue to move up. NAHB reports that housing starts averaged 480,000 per month during the fourth quarter of 2009, up from 392,000 starts per month during the first half of the year.
And single-family building permits were slightly above 500,000 in both December and January for the first time since September 2008.
Builders also showed a small improvement in their outlook, with the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index up one point if February. Although the number remains extremely low at 17, it nonetheless is a upward turn.
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 9:00 am and is filed under CEO Connection. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
