Housing Starts Fall 10% in May

This number is way below expectations and doesn’t bode well for near-term jobs…

The Census Bureau reports:

BUILDING PERMITS

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 574,000. This is 5.9
percent (±2.2%) below the revised April rate of 610,000, but is 4.4 percent (±2.6%) above the May 2009 estimate of 550,000.

Single-family authorizations in May were at a rate of 438,000; this is 9.9 percent (±2.1%) below the revised April figure of 486,000.
Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 117,000 in May.

HOUSING STARTS

Privately-owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 593,000. This is 10.0 percent (±10.3%)* below the
U.S. Census Bureau News

Single-family housing starts in May were at a rate of 468,000; this is 17.2 percent (±7.9%) below the revised April figure of 565,000.
The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 112,000.

Here is a chart from Calculated Risk: