Slump Has Broad Economic Impact, NAHB Says

The home building slump has resulted in a loss of more than three million jobs, according to an analysis by economists at the National Association of Home Builders. Because production has dropped by more than one million units since starts hit their peak in 2005, 1.4 million construction workers have had to seek employment elsewhere, the NAHB said at its annual convention in Las Vegas. "But the loss doesn't stop there," according to the report, which says the slump also has resulted in the loss of nearly 562,000 jobs in the businesses which make building products and nearly 583,000 jobs in such service-related industries as architects, lawyers and engineers. That adds up to 3.05 million jobs that no longer exist, and $145 million in lost wages. Home building also is generating far less tax income for federal, state and local governments. "When one million single-family homes are not built, it means a loss of $89 billion in government revenue," the report said. Also lost is the $4.9 billion that is usually spent on appliances, home furnishings and property alterations in the first year after one million fewer families move from one house to another, the NAHB claimed.