[510] MTSU center releases Q1 stats for TN on housing, jobs

MURFREESBORO — MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center has released a report regarding the state’s housing and employment sectors during first quarter of 2013.

  

David Penn, director of the center, notes that job growth accelerated during the first quarter of 2013, with employers adding 20,000 nonfarm jobs from the previous quarter, expanding at a 3 percent annual rate.

Meanwhile, initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to a monthly average of 5,146 during the quarter, the lowest since prerecession levels. Initial claims fall when employers lay off fewer workers. The number of unemployed rose 3,000, most likely due to an increase in the number of job seekers. The unemployment rate rose slightly because the number of job seekers increased more rapidly than the number of jobs available.

  

In the housing sector, single-family home construction for Tennessee was out of step with the South and the United States in the first quarter. Seasonally adjusted single-family construction fell to an annual rate of 14,900 units from 15,500 in the previous quarter, a 4.1 percent decline. By contrast, the South gained 4.8 percent and the United States 4.4 percent.

Find the full report here: http://capone.mtsu.edu/berc/housingbrief.html

EDITOR’S NOTE: Other findings available from the center to generate your own reports include:

— Housing Price Index

The Housing Price Index through the first quarter for Tennessee and 10 metropolitan areas can be found at: http://capone.mtsu.edu/berc/tacir/hpisummary.html .

— Updated Economic Indicators

Find graphs at http://mtsu.edu/berc/tacir. Among the findings:

•       Seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment for Tennessee increased 4,500 in April due to gains in education and health services and professional and business services. Over the year, nonfarm employment is up 47,900, but the rate of growth has slowed since January. 

•       Tennessee’s unemployment rate increased again in April, rising to 8 percent in contrast with a falling unemployment rate for the U.S.

•       State sales tax collections show little change in April compared with the previous month after seasonal adjustments. Collections are 0.8 percent lower compared with April 2012.

Graphs: Search by MSA at http://mtsu.edu/berc/tacir 

— Employment Growth by Industry

Tables for the state and 10 Metropolitan Statistical Areas through April can be found at http://www.mtsu.edu/~berc/tacir/tennesseejobs.html .