Slight uptick in housing starts as jobless claims fall
2/17/2012
New jobless claims continued to fall as new home building permits began to rise over the last several weeks, government agencies reported recently.
New home construction starts were up roughly 1.5 percent in January to a seasonally adjusted 699,000, according to an Associated Press analysis. New apartment construction helped offset low single-family home construction numbers, which were down 1 percent from December. New home construction, as well as new building permits, which indicate future construction projects, have risen steadily over the last few months, AP reports.
At the same time, new jobless claims are continuing a downward trend. Labor Department statistics show the four-week average for unemployment claims fell to 365,250, marking the fifth straight week of declines. Weekly applications for the seven-day period ending February 11 fell by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 348,000, the lowest level in nearly four years.
Other recent Labor Department reports have indicated the economy may be moving in the right direction. On February 3, the Labor Department announced that the nation's unemployment rate had fallen to 8.3 percent.
Read More VA News
