Florida metropolitan area ranks first in employment rebound
The Wildwood–The Villages region of Florida leads the nation in employment recovery since the pandemic, according to an analysis Wednesday by the National Association of Home Builders.
Employment in the Wildwood metropolitan area, home to The Villages, the top-selling master-planned community in the country, has reached 127% of its February 2020 level, according to the NAHB report. St. George, Utah, placed second at 125%.
Of the nation's 393 regions, 300 have fully recovered, the NAHB reported. Lake Charles, Louisiana, is the slowest to bounce back, with employment at 87% of its February 2020 level. Aside from COVID-19, Lake Charles also dealt with hurricanes Laura and Delta in 2020.
"Tracking the labor market impact is critical for understanding the follow-on effect on home building activity during the last five years," said Jing Fu, NAHB's senior director of forecasting and analysis, in a blog post.
Americans feel uncertain
While employment has largely recovered since the pandemic, the current economic uncertainty has Americans concerned about losing their jobs as costs for everyday items rise, according to a Harris Poll for Bloomberg News.
The poll showed 55% of employed Americans are worried about staying on their current company's payroll, according to the survey. Meanwhile, 62% say the costs of common items have increased in the past month, and nearly half of those respondents reported struggling to cope with the increases.
Bloomberg pointed out recent layoff announcements by Amazon, Starbucks and other major employers, and cited a report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which showed that last month had the most announced job cuts for any October since 2003.
Barriers to curb affordable housing
Elevated construction costs and tariffs will limit affordable housing development next year, a new report finds.
A TD Bank survey shows less than a third of industry professionals plan to expand housing projects in 2026. Still, the strongest demand will be for multifamily housing, housing for seniors and the elderly and workforce housing for middle-income professionals, according to the survey of 238 participants at the Governor’s Conference on Housing and Economic Development in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Six in 10 respondents said proposed changes to the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program will influence their development plans, with 84% anticipating a negative impact, according to TD.