WREN Report: Housing Starts and CPI Decrease, Layoffs Up

December 21, 2008  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in economic news on December 22, 2008 Privately owned housing starts fell 18.9 percent in November, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 625,000, compared with October starts of 771,000. Measured against November 2007 results, starts plummeted 47 percent.

The number of completed privately owned housing units increased 3.3 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.1 million units, compared with October figures. Measured against November 2007 results, completions fell 22.8 percent.

Housing starts and completions are tracked by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) decreased 1.7 percent in November, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The index for household furnishings and operations, which was virtually unchanged in October, decreased 0.2 percent in November.

Overall CPI was 213.060 in November and was 1.1 percent higher than in November of 2007.

CPI, tracked by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, measures the average change in prices over time of goods and services purchased by households. The index base is 1982-84 equals 100.

In November, employers took 2,328 mass layoff actions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is an increase of 188 mass layoff actions from October, while the number of associated initial unemployment insurance claims decreased by 8,389 to 224,079.

In November of 2007, 1,329 mass layoff events were reported, with 198,220 associated initial unemployment insurance claims.

Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer.

In the home furnishings manufacturing segment, 22 mass layoff events were reported in November, up from 13 in October.

Weekly Review of Economic News (WREN) reports are summaries of recently-released economic statistical data that affect the home furnishings industry. WREN reports are compiled by HFB Research Editor Janice Chamberlain.