Federal Jobs Report Shows Biggest Increase Since 2008

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) issued its Job Openings and Labor Turnover report for February on Tuesday, June 9th, 2013.

The data was mixed with preliminary figures for all non-farm jobs increasing from 3.62 million jobs in January to 3.93 million jobs in February.

This was the highest month-to- month increase in jobs since May 2008. 

Non-farm jobs increased by 399,000 jobs from 3.53 million in February 2012 to 3.93 million jobs in February 2013, an increase of 10.2 percent year-over-year.

More Jobs Means More Opportunities For Home Ownership

More jobs generally means higher incomes and stability which enable more families to buy homes and qualify for mortgage loans.

Hires between January and February 2013 rose from 4.30 million to 4.43 million hires, an increase of 2.70 percent.

Hires between February 2012 and February 2013 fell from 44.9 million to 44.2 million, a decrease of 1.6 percent.

Total non-farm job separations changed little month to month, and remained exactly the same year-over-year at 4.20 million separations.

Numbers of hires and separations surpass job numbers due to workers being hired on and/or separated from more than one job during the reporting period.

Regional Non-Farm Employment Shows Job Growth

• Northeast: Non-farm jobs fell from 688,000 jobs in January 2013 to 647,000 jobs in February 2013, but increased year-over-year from 589,000 jobs to 647,000 jobs.

• South:  Non-farm Jobs fell from 1.56 million jobs in January 2013 to 1.50 million jobs in February 2013. Jobs increased year-over-year from 1.34 million jobs in February 2012 to 1.47 million jobs in February 2013.

• Midwest: Non-farm jobs grew from 712,000 in January 2013 to 780,000 jobs in February 2013 and increased from 740,000 jobs to 780,000 from February 2012 to February 2013.

• West: Non-farm jobs increased from 806,000 to 830,000 between January and February 2013; on a year-over-year basis, jobs showed noteworthy growth from 650,000 jobs to 830,000 jobs between February 2012 and February 2013.

It's A Great Time To Buy Or Refinance A Home

Improving labor data indicates that the economy is on the mend, but this could cause mortgage rates and home prices to rise as the economy expands.

A gradual economic recovery suggests that home buyers and others seeking lower mortgage rates and refinancing can still find favorable mortgage terms.

But it would likely be best to take advantage of the still historic home purchase and financing opportunities that are available today.

Contact your trusted, licensed real estate or mortgage professional today to learn how the growing economy can benefit your family as well.

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Strong Rebound in Pending Home Sales

Pending home sales saw a jump of 10% in October which is a positive sign that the real estate market is stabilizing, according to a December 2, 2010 National Association of Realtors® article, Strong Rebound in Pending Home Sales. Housing affordability can be credited to drawing buyers to the table and causing this rebound in Tampa, Florida and across the nation.

According to Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist of the National Association of Realtors®, “It is welcoming to see a solid double-digit percentage gain, but activity needs to improve further to reach healthy, sustainable levels. The housing market is clearly in a recovery phase and will be uneven at times, but the improving job market and consequential boost to household formation will help the recovery process going into 2011.”

Yun went further to say, “A return to more normal loan underwriting standards and removal of unnecessary underwriting fees for very low risk borrowers is needed and could quickly help in the housing and economic recovery.”

Another interesting indicator is that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reports show very low default rates on new mortgages, much lower than the default rates during the 2002-2003 housing boom. All of these factors combined show the real estate market is on the road to recovery. This is a welcomed report for not only the real estate market, but the overall economic health of our country.

Call SI Real Estate today at 813.631.5144 for more details. SI Real Estate, Tampa is your full-service real estate boutique who can assist you with any real estate needs you may have. We provide the complete spectrum of real estate services, utilizing our vast real estate experience and extensive Tampa Bay area knowledge to meet the needs of our buyers, sellers, relocations, investors, landlords, and tenants. After all, SI Real Estate is “Global Real Estate in Every Way!”

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