It is no wonder the residential construction industry is busier than ever. The current housing market is better than ever with record-low interest rates. October 2020 saw 11,500 more residential construction employment than October 2019.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in October 2020 that there was 2.9 million residential construction employment. This was a 23,800 rise in employment from September. The total construction industry which includes residential and nonresidential totaled 7.3 million employment.

According to the Employment Situation Summary, the total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 638,000 in October which marked the sixth consecutive month of increases. In the past six months, approximately 12.1 million jobs have been created.

Overall the unemployment rate dropped 1% to 6.9% in October making the number of unemployed drop to 11.1 million. The leading industry during the month of October was leisure and hospitality with 271,000 while the government sector lost 268,000 employees.

As of October, residential construction employment stands at 2.9 million. This includes 835,000 builders and 2.1 million residential specialty trade contractors. Job gains for residential construction are 70,783 a month on a 6-month moving average.

The unemployment rate dropped to 8.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis for construction workers. The pandemic has not faltered the residential construction industry. Unemployment is the industry has been trending down for the past six months.

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The National Association of Home Builders’ Housing Trends Report found that 27% of home buyers said they could afford half or more of the homes on the market in their areas. This is up from this time last year that only reported 20% of buyers. Good news for buyers in the current market as housing affordability improved in the last 12 months. Many buyers are not as concerned with the rising home prices because of the record low mortgage rates.

When it comes to the percentage of buyers by generation Millennials were on top in the third quarter of 2020. Prospective home buyers by generation were as follows, Millennials were at 31% in the third quarter of 2020, next were Gen X at 29%, Gen Z at 26% and the Boomers were least at 19%. All were up from the third quarter of 2019 except for the Boomers who had a 4% decline.

Those who can afford half or more of the homes for sale by each region in the country also differed. In the third quarter of 2019, the Midwest had the highest percentage, but in the third quarter of 2020, the Midwest had the lowest percentage. The percent of prospective home buyers per region in the third quarter of 2020 were as follows, the Northeast had 39%, the West had 28%, the South had 24% and the Midwest had the lowest at 19%.

The Housing Trends Report (HTR) measures prospective home buyers’ perceptions about the availability and affordability of homes for sale in their markets. The data is derived from national polls where a sample of adult’s answers was used. The sample of adults was based on age, educational attainment, gender, race, and region. The report defines the generations as follows Gen Z born 1997 to 2002, Millennial born 1981 to 1996, Gen X born 1965 to 1980 and Boomer born 1946 to 1964.

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