by Calculated Risk on 7/01/2014 07:40:00 PM

The BLS released the Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment report for May today.

Unemployment rates were lower in May than a year earlier in 357 of the 372 metropolitan areas, higher in 11 areas, and unchanged in 4 areas, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Twelve areas had jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent and 93 areas had rates of less than 5.0 percent. ...

Yuma, Ariz., and El Centro, Calif., had the highest unemployment rates in May, 26.5 percent and 21.1 percent, respectively. Bismarck, N.D., had the lowest unemployment rate, 2.2 percent.

It is interesting to look at a few areas I've been tracking. As an example, the unemployment rate in Sacramento has fallen from a high of 12.9% to 6.7% in May. No wonder housing has improved!

And another area I've been tracking is the Inland Empire in California.  Way back in 2006 I disagreed with some analysts on the outlook for the Inland Empire in California. I wrote:

As the housing bubble unwinds, housing related employment will fall; and fall dramatically in areas like the Inland Empire. The more an area is dependent on housing, the larger the negative impact on the local economy will be.

So I think some pundits have it backwards: Instead of a strong local economy keeping housing afloat, I think the bursting housing bubble will significantly impact housing dependent local economies.

And sure enough, the economies of housing dependent areas like the Inland Empire were devastated during the housing bust. The good news is the Inland Empire is now recovering.

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows the unemployment rate for the Inland Empire (using MSA: Riverside, San Bernardino, Ontario), and also the number of construction jobs as a percent of total employment.

The unemployment rate is falling, but still high at 8.0% (down from 15.0% in 2010). And construction employment is still low, but starting to increase.

Obviously the outlook for the Inland Empire is much better today.

Wednesday:
• Early, Reis Q2 2014 Apartment Survey of rents and vacancy rates.

• At 7:00 AM ET, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the results for the mortgage purchase applications index.

• At 8:15 AM, the ADP Employment Report for June. This report is for private payrolls only (no government). The consensus is for 210,000 payroll jobs added in June, up from 180,000 in May.

• At 10:00 AM, Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories and Orders (Factory Orders) for May. The consensus is for a 0.3% decrease in May orders.

• At 11:00 AM, Speech by Fed Chair Janet Yellen, Financial Stability, At the Inaugural Michel Camdessus Central Banking Lecture at the International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C.

by Calculated Risk on 7/01/2014 02:55:00 PM

Based on an WardsAuto estimate, light vehicle sales were at a 16.9 million SAAR in June. That is up 7% from June 2013, and up 1% from the 16.7 million annual sales rate last month.

This was above the consensus forecast of 16.4 million SAAR (seasonally adjusted annual rate).

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows the historical light vehicle sales from the BEA (blue) and an estimate for June (red, light vehicle sales of 16.9 million SAAR from WardsAuto).

Severe weather clearly impacted sales in January and February.  Since then vehicle sales have been very strong.

The second graph shows light vehicle sales since the BEA started keeping data in 1967.

Note: dashed line is current estimated sales rate.

Unlike residential investment, auto sales bounced back fairly quickly following the recession and were a key driver of the recovery.   

by Calculated Risk on 7/01/2014 02:10:00 PM

We are finally seeing the slowdown in the year-over-year (YoY) housing price indexes that many of us have been expecting based on supply and demand.  With inventory increasing steadily - and by one measure now above 2012 levels for the same week - the price slowdown will probably continue (and we may see price index declines in some areas).

Note: on inventory, the NAR data for May indicated inventory was up 6.0% YoY, but still down 7.6% compared to May 2012.  Comparing to 2012 is interesting because prices started to increase in early 2012 (my bottom call in February 2012: The Housing Bottom is Here).

As an example, the CoreLogic index released this morning showed an 8.8% YoY increase in May; a fairly large increase, but the smallest year-over-year increase since late 2012 - and down from a 11.8% YoY increase a few months ago.

This slowdown in the house price indexes (even though expected) is a key story for 2014.  The next question is how much prices will slow.  Zillow is forecasting their index will increase 2.9% over the next 12 months. This will be a key story for the rest of the year and in 2015.

Here is a table of several indexes through April and May.

Year-over-year change for selected House Price Indexes
	Case Shiller1	CoreLogic	FHFA2	Zillow	Black Knight3	FNC
Jan-14	13.2%	11.4%	7.3%	6.3%	8.0%	9.1%
Feb-14	12.9%	11.8%	6.9%	5.6%	7.6%	9.2%
Mar-14	12.3%	11.0%	6.4%	5.7%	7.0%	9.1%
Apr-14	10.8%	10.0%	5.9%	5.3%	6.4%	8.4%
May-14	---	8.8%	---	5.3%	---	---
1Case-Shiller Composite 20 2FHFA Purchase Only Index SA 3Black Knight formerly LPS

by Calculated Risk on 7/01/2014 11:43:00 AM

The Census Bureau reported that overall construction spending increased in May:

The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced today that construction spending during May 2014 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $956.1 billion, 0.1 percent above the revised April estimate of $955.1 billion. The May figure is 6.6 percent above the May 2013 estimate of $896.6 billion.

Private spending declined and public spending increased in May:

Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $682.8 billion, 0.3 percent below the revised April estimate of $684.6 billion. Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $354.8 billion in May, 1.5 percent below the revised April estimate of $360.1 billion. Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $328.0 billion in May, 1.1 percent above the revised April estimate of $324.5 billion. ...

In May, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $273.3 billion, 1.0 percent above the revised April estimate of $270.5 billion.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows private residential and nonresidential construction spending, and public spending, since 1993. Note: nominal dollars, not inflation adjusted.

Private residential spending is 48% below the peak in early 2006, and up 55% from the post-bubble low.

Non-residential spending is 21% below the peak in January 2008, and up about 45% from the recent low.

Public construction spending is now 16% below the peak in March 2009 and about 5% above the post-recession low.

The second graph shows the year-over-year change in construction spending.

On a year-over-year basis, private residential construction spending is now up 7%. Non-residential spending is up 11% year-over-year. Public spending is up 1% year-over-year.


Looking forward, all categories of construction spending should increase in 2014. Residential spending is still very low, non-residential is starting to pickup, and public spending has probably hit bottom.

by Calculated Risk on 7/01/2014 10:00:00 AM

The ISM manufacturing index suggests slightly slower expansion in June than in May. The PMI was at 55.3% in June, down from 55.4% in May. The employment index was at 52.8%, unchanged from 52.8% in May, and the new orders index was at 58.9%, up from 56.9% in May.

From the Institute for Supply Management: June 2014 Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in June for the 13th consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 61st consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.

The report was issued today by Bradley J. Holcomb, CPSM, CPSD, chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. "The June PMI® registered 55.3 percent, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from May's reading of 55.4 percent, indicating expansion in manufacturing for the 13th consecutive month. The New Orders Index registered 58.9 percent, an increase of 2 percentage points from the 56.9 percent reading in May, indicating growth in new orders for the 13th consecutive month. The Production Index registered 60 percent, 1 percentage point below the May reading of 61 percent. Employment grew for the 12th consecutive month, registering 52.8 percent, the same level of growth as reported in May. Inventories of raw materials remained at 53 percent, the same reading as reported in both May and April. The price of raw materials grew at a slower rate in June, registering 58 percent, down 2 percentage points from May."
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

Here is a long term graph of the ISM manufacturing index.

This was just below expectations of 55.6%.