The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported increases in construction spending and consequently employment in December 2011, while the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD listed a decline in new single-family house sales for the same time period. The AGC theorizes that a 4.3 percent rise in overall construction spending from December 2010 to December 2011 and a 1.5 percent increase from November to December 2011 helped drive industry employment numbers up. Among the 337 metropolitan areas where the AGC tracks construction employment, 148 reported more jobs available, 61 maintained their employment statistics, and 128 demonstrated dropping numbers. According to AGC chief economist Ken Simonson, most of the improvement was due to private sector activity.
Less encouraging news comes from the recently released U.S. Census Bureau and HUD joint report that also covers December 2011 statistics. Those numbers fell significantly, especially when compared with year-over-year totals. Looking at December 2010 compared with December 2011, there was a 7.7 percent decrease in house sales and a 2.2 percent drop compared with November 2011 sales. In addition, the report also listed lower median sales prices for single-family houses.
