- The January jobs report was surprisingly positive, with a significant jump in new hires, a slight bump in hourly wage growth, and continued rise people entering the labor force. Meanwhile, unemployment remains near its lowest level in five decades.
- These trends are all positive for property markets and the broader economy.
- Nonetheless, on deeper analysis, the trends are not nearly as positive as they seem on first blush: job openings are falling along with business sentiment, suggesting job growth will slow further this year. Despite the blip in January, the rate of job creation has been slowing for more than four years and remains well below trends from earlier in the economic cycle.
- Wage growth remains below its 2019 average and earnings are flat due to falling hours worked.
- While we can applaud the modest improvement in the job picture last month, it does not negate the weakening labor market overall. Based on these trends, we can expect CRE leasing to slow in 2020.
You may read the full report here.
Posted: by Andrew J. Nelson
