Hiring by residential builders started to pick up last fall and in November exceeded 10,000 for the first time in years.
Friday’s jobs report shows hiring by residential builders and subcontractors totaled 14,200 in March, compared to 17,200 in the prior month.
Despite rising housing starts last year, hiring by builders lagged the increase in construction activity, according David Crowe, the chief economist for the National Association of
But in the first quarter, hiring by residential builders and subcontractors totaled 44,800.
“This is exactly what we have been expecting,” Crowe told NMN.
Single-family starts rose 24% in 2012. And NAHB economists are forecasting another 24% increase this year. That would bring single-family starts up to 664,000 in 2013.
NAHB economists have trimmed their forecast for economic growth due to government spending cuts and other factors. But not their housing forecast. “There is enough momentum in housing,” Crowe said, to overcome the slowdown. “We won’t feel it,” he added.
