Hiring slowdown stokes economic fears
Job creation fell well below expectations last month, fueling concerns about the economy and the U.S. housing market.
Employers added 73,000 jobs in July, the Labor Department said Friday. The figure was significantly lower than the 110,000 that a consensus of analysts had predicted.
In addition, the government revised downward the number of May and June jobs by 258,000, a much larger than normal correction.
Unemployment rose to 4.2% in July from 4.1% in June. Companies are hesitant to hire, given the uncertainty about tariffs and inflation, according to Heather Long, chief economist for the Navy Federal Credit Union.
The slowing jobs market could affect the soft housing market. Buyers are already hesitant, citing affordability challenges. A separate report from the U.S. Census showed reduced spending on single-family construction drove overall private residential construction spending down by 0.7% in June, the sixth consecutive month of declines, the National Association of Home Builders noted.
Meanwhile, the construction industry added only 7,000 jobs in the past four months, noted Anirban Basu, chief economist for the Associated Builders and Contractors. Industrywide employment is up just 1.2% over the past year, "a lackluster pace of growth that historically is seen during and immediately following recessions," Basu said in a statement.
Lumber duty could pinch US homebuilding
The U.S. Commerce Department said this week it would impose a 20.56% duty on Canadian softwood lumber coming into the United States.
That's almost triple the 7.66% rate set in 2022. The decision is expected to raise the cost of building homes in the United States and economically damage Canada’s massive forestry industry.
The softwood lumber directive requires Canadian companies to pay duties retroactively from the start of 2023. The new fee is expected to have an impact across Canada, most notably in British Columbia, home to a $10 billion lumber industry.
Canada supplies as much as 30% of softwood lumber used in the U.S. each year, according to Rajan Parajuli, an associate professor of forest economics and policy at North Carolina State University.
Martha Stewart stores are coming
Lifestyle guru and entrepreneur Martha Stewart is branching out to retail stores and eventually plans to open some in the U.S., according to trade publication WWD.
The stores will offer a selection of Stewart's favorite home products, the publication reports. The company's first location opened in Dubai, and a U.S. rollout is in the works, though there are no specific details yet.
It's part of an initiative to build the Martha Stewart brand, with Stewart also growing her restaurant business. The Bedford by Martha Stewart, a restaurant that opened an outlet in 2022 in Las Vegas, is opening a second location this fall, at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, according to a post on Stewart's Facebook account.
