U.S. Travel and Tourism Spending Strengthens in 3Q15

Real spending on travel and tourism increased by 4.3% (seasonally adjusted annualized rate) during the third quarter of 2015. This followed an increase of 8.4% in the second quarter. In comparison, real gross domestic product rose by 2.0% during the third quarter. The Bureau of Economic Analysis tracks the travel and tourism industry in the United State because it is an important source of jobs and economic activity, particularly here in Southern California. Additionally, foreign visitors traveling to the U.S. are an important source of export revenue.

Spending on travel-related goods and services was $839.6 billion during the third quarter of this year, compared with $830.9 billion in the previous quarter. Spending on traveler accommodations rose by 4.0%, while spending on transportation increased by 9.6% (passenger air transportation was up by 13.3%). Tourism spending at restaurants and bars ticked up by 1.0% but spending on recreation, shopping and entertainment declined by 1.7%.

Overall, prices for travel and tourism goods and services in the third quarter edged down by 0.3%. Prices were up in a number of sectors: accommodations (2.6%); food and drinking establishments (2.3%); recreation and entertainment venues (1.3%) and shopping (0.8%); but those gains were more than offset by falling prices for air transportation (-7.9%).

The travel and tourism industry has been a source of steady job growth since the second quarter of 2010. Direct employment in this sector increased by 2.2% during the third quarter after expanding by 1.6% in the previous quarter. All travel-related sectors posted a gain in employment, ranging from 4.0% for air transportation to 0.9% for traveler accommodations. During the third quarter, nearly 5.7 million workers were employed in the U.S. travel and tourism industry, which equated to about 4.0% of total nonfarm employment. 

  

Source: http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/industry/tourism/tournewsrelease.htm

California State Tax Revenues Increase by 4.1% in 3Q15

The U.S. Census Bureau released figures for third quarter state and local tax collections by state and type of tax. At $211.5 billion, total state tax revenues collected across all fifty states (excluding Washington, DC) were up by 3.2% in the third quarter of 2015 compared with the same period in 2014. In California, tax revenues were up by 4.1% to $32.7 billion in the third quarter – a reflection of stronger economic growth and the improving health of state and local government finances within California.

Two of California’s three largest tax revenue categories reported increases in collections during the third quarter. General sales tax revenues rose by 3.0% to $9.0 billion, but were outpaced by the national increase of 4.4%. Personal income tax revenues were $15.6 billion in the third quarter, an increase of 8.9%. Nationally, personal income taxes were up by 6.2%. Personal income taxes are California’s largest revenue source (making up nearly half of all tax revenues collected in the third quarter), but personal income tax revenues are also notoriously volatile making budget planning and forecasting difficult.

California’s corporations paid $1.3 billion in income taxes during the third quarter, a decline of 17.6% compared with the same period a year ago. Corporate tax payments tend to be even more volatile than personal income taxes, but they count for a relatively small share of California’s “Big Three” revenue sources. Across the U.S., corporate income tax revenues edged down by 0.1%.

Other noteworthy changes include a 9.5% increase in California’s property tax revenues, the result of rising home prices, and a decline of 8.7% in motor fuel taxes, which help to fund expansion and maintenance of state’s roads and highways.

Altogether, sales and personal income taxes made up 67% of state revenues nationwide. California relies more heavily on these two revenue sources compared to other states. Sales and personal income taxes regularly contribute about 75% of total tax revenues received in a given quarter.

Source:    http://www.census.gov/govs/www/qtax.html

Personal Income Growth Strengthens in November

Total personal income in the U.S. increased in November by 0.3% on a nominal basis. Strong growth in employment and an increase in the number of hours worked supported an increase of 0.5% in total wages and salaries, which make up just over half of total personal income in the U.S.

Real disposable income (adjusted for taxes and inflation) rose by 0.2%. Real personal consumption expenditures, on the other hand, rose at a slightly faster rate – 0.3%. Accordingly, the personal saving rate dipped to 5.5% in November from 5.6% in October. Real spending on durable goods was up by 1.1% over the month, while spending on nondurable goods rose by 0.9%. Spending on services, which comprise 65% of consumer spending, was flat for the second month in a row.

On a year-to-year basis, incomes and spending moved higher in November:

• Real disposable income rose by 3.5% in November, slowing slightly from the October rate of 3.8%.
• Real personal consumption expenditures grew by 2.5%
• Growth in real spending on goods (3.6%) outpaced spending on services (2.0%) although in dollar terms, Americans spend more than two times as much on services as they do goods.

Consumer prices were unchanged over the month in November but edged up over the year by 0.4%. Excluding food and energy, prices advanced by 1.3%.

In addition to the national figures on personal income, the BEA also released a report on state personal income for the third quarter of 2015. In California, personal income increased by 1.4% compared with the second quarter of this year, slightly ahead of the national average of 1.3%. Personal income grew the fastest in Nebraska and South Dakota (both at 2.2%), while Alaska posted the slowest rate of growth at 0.6%. California ranked 14^th in terms of percent growth over the quarter. Compared with the third quarter of 2014, personal income in California increased by 6.5% versus 4.6% for the nation as a whole. 

Source:  http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/pi/pinewsrelease.htm and http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/gdp_state/qgsp_newsrelease.htm

California Home Sales and Median Prices in November

The California Association of Realtors (CAR) recently released their report on California existing home sales and median prices in November. The statewide median price fell slightly (by 0.2%) compared with October to $475,000, but was up over the year by 6.8%.

The number of single-family homes in California that closed escrow in November fell by 1.6% over the year to 369,680 units (seasonally adjusted annualized rate). Compared with October, sales were down by 8.4%. This was the first time sales dipped below 400,000 since March 2015 and was the first year-over-year decline since January 2015.

Mortgage interest rates inched up in November, with the 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rate averaging 3.94%, up from 3.80% in October, but below the year ago rate of 4.00%. The Federal Reserve’s recent announcement that it would raise the Federal Funds rate has been anticipated for a long time and should not initially have an adverse impact on the housing market since interest rates are still at historical lows. The CAR report noted that the increase might actually help home sales in the near-term. Potential buyers who had been hesitating may finally move now that interest rates are expected to begin a slow but steady rise over the next few years.

Below is a year-over-year summary of sales and price activity in Southern California by county. Although the statewide sales figures are seasonally adjusted, regional and county figures are not.

Los Angeles County:  unit sales declined by 5.5% over the year in November, while the median price rose by 5.5% to $457,870.

Orange County: sales fell by 5.0% as the median price increased by 3.1% to $711,030

Riverside County:  sales of existing homes edged down by 1.4% and the median price moved higher by 5.1% to $337,200.

San Bernardino County:  sales slipped by 1.4% in November but the median price increased by 10.5% to $236,220.

San Diego County:  unit sales edged up by 0.8% and the median price rose by   12.8% to $554,440.

Ventura County:  sales declined by 5.4% over the year while the median price rose by 13.5% to $623,400.

Source: http://www.car.org/newsstand/newsreleases/2015releases/november2015sales?view=Standard

November State and Local Employment Report

The Employment Development Department (EDD) released the state and local employment reports for the month of November. Total California nonfarm employment increased by 5,500 jobs over the month in seasonally adjusted (SA) terms. Before adjusting for seasonality, the gain was 78,600 jobs. The year-over-year change showed an increase of 417,100 jobs (SA). This equated to a growth rate of 2.6%. This was the slowest rate of increase since September 2012 when it was 2.5%, but still exceeded the November national increase of 1.9%. California’s private sector added 378,400 jobs (an increase of 2.8% over the year), while employment in the public sector rose by 1.6% (38,700 jobs).

Industry employment held to trend in November with nine of the 11 super-sectors adding jobs over the year: construction; trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; professional and business services; educational and health services; leisure and hospitality; other services; and government for a combined gain of 424,300 jobs. Professional and business services posted the largest gain on a numerical basis, adding 116,000 jobs (up 4.7%), while construction continues to claim the largest gain in percentage terms, increasing by 5.9% and adding 41,000 jobs.

Two industry sectors recorded a decline in November. Mining and logging employment dropped by 9.3%, a loss of 2,900 jobs, while manufacturing employment was down by 0.3% or 4,300 jobs.

California’s unemployment rate declined slightly from 5.8% in October to 5.7% in November and was down from the year ago rate of 7.2%. California’s unemployment rate is now the lowest it has been since November 2007 when it was also 5.7%. The number of employed persons in California now stands at 17,910,100 (an increase of 2.1% over the year), while the number of unemployed workers tumbled by 20.2% over the same period to 1,081,800 in November. Although California has been working its way up the ranks, it still had the 13^th highest unemployment rate in the nation last month, while at 2.7%, North Dakota had the lowest.

County highlights:

(Note: With the exception of the Los Angeles unemployment rate, county level numbers are not seasonally adjusted, which means there can be large month-to-month fluctuations in job counts. A truer picture of how local labor markets are faring is revealed by focusing on the year-over-year numbers. Annual trends “correct” for the seasonal factors that influence certain industry sectors over the course of the year.)

In Los Angeles County, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.9%, down from 6.0% in October and below the year ago rate of 8.0%. Total nonfarm employment (not seasonally adjusted) increased by 22,200 jobs over the month and was up over the year by 73,200 jobs, an increase of 1.7%.

Educational and health services posted the largest year-over-year gain in employment in November with a net increase of 22,400 jobs. The health care industry added 24,800 jobs, but a decline of 2,400 jobs in educational services partially offset the increase.

Also recording significant job gains were leisure and hospitality, which picked up 19,700 jobs, 87% of which were in accommodation and food services, and professional and business services employment with the addition 15,900 jobs.

Four major industry sectors reported year-over-year declines in November: manufacturing employment contracted by 7,500 jobs; information lost 7,300 jobs; financial activities was down by 300 jobs, and in the mining and logging sector, job counts fell by 400.

In November, the unemployment rate in Orange County was 4.2%, down from 4.3% in October and below the year-ago figure of 5.2%. Nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 11,600 over the month and were up by 39,000 over the year (an increase of 2.5%).

In the Riverside-San Bernardino area, the unemployment rate in November was 6.1% compared with 6.3% in October and below the year ago estimate of 7.6%. The Inland Empire gained 17,900 nonfarm payroll jobs over the month and 46,100 over the year. This represented an increase of 3.5%.

In Ventura County, the unemployment rate was 5.4%, unchanged over the month but down from the year ago estimate of 6.6%. Total nonfarm employment was up by 2,400 jobs over the month and by 8,500 jobs over the year (up by 2.9%).

Summary: California led the nation with the largest annual wage and salary job gain of 417,100 in November, while the unemployment rate fell to its lowest in over eight years. In Southern California, every region saw decreases in unemployment rates and job gains in key industries such as health care, professional and business services, construction, and leisure and hospitality.  

Sources:  http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/

Consumers Give Credit Cards a Rest in October

Total consumer credit outstanding increased by 5.5% ($16.0 billion) over the month in October to over $3.5 trillion (seasonally adjusted, annualized rate). Over the 12 months ending in October, total non-mortgage consumer debt was up by 7.0%.

After posting a gain of 8.7% in September, the second highest monthly increase in 12 months, revolving credit was flat in October. Revolving credit, which is composed primarily of credit card debt, increased by 4.4% over the year, but remains nearly 10% below prerecession levels. Matching its average gain over the last 12 months, non-revolving credit (student and auto loans), rose by 7.4% or $15.8 billion to nearly $2.6 trillion. Over the year, borrowing for student and car loans has increased by 7.9%.

Set against a backdrop of lackluster wage gains, the increase in consumer borrowing has led to an increase in the ratio of debt to disposable income. Climbing steadily over the past two years, this ratio now stands at 25.8%. Households appear able to be handling higher levels of consumer debt without too much trouble, perhaps because fewer households have home mortgages. At $8.75 trillion, total mortgage debt in the third quarter of this year was 12.4% below the peak reached 3Q2008. Credit card delinquency rates improved slightly during the third quarter, while delinquency rates on auto loans remained unchanged. On the other hand, student loan delinquencies are rising:  11.6% of student loans are now seriously delinquent or in default. And because so many student loans are in deferment, this may be understating  actual delinquency rates.

Source:  http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/default.htm

November Retail Sales - Take a Second Look

U.S. retail and food services sales in November were up by just 0.2% over the month. However, if automobiles, gasoline stations and building supply centers are excluded to arrive at core retail sales, the increase last month was a healthier 0.6%.

Sales were even stronger in several of the major retail categories, notably sporting goods, hobby, books and music, and clothing and accessories, both of which posted a gain of 0.8%. Sales at food and beverage stores, general merchandise stores, miscellaneous store retailers, and at restaurants and bars were all up by 0.7%. Electronics and appliance stores and nonstore retailers both saw sales move higher by 0.6% over the month.

Reporting weaker sales were motor vehicle dealers (-0.4%); furniture and home furnishing stores (-0.3%); DIY retailers (-0.3%); and gasoline stations (-0.8%).

On a year-over-year basis, total retail sales in November were up by 1.4%. Most major sectors are reporting year-over-year gains with the exception of electronics and appliance stores (-2.3%) and gasoline stations (-19.9%). The biggest winners over the year have been nonstore retailers (+7.3%), and restaurants and bars (+6.5%).

Overall this was a good retail report. Because retail sales figures are not adjusted for inflation, weak gasoline sales resulting from lower prices tend overshadow strength elsewhere in the retail sector. Remove the effect of lower gasoline prices from the equation and concerns about the health of the U.S. consumer can be laid to rest. (Kimberly Ritter-Martinez)

Source:  http://www.census.gov/retail/marts/www/marts_current.pdf

California Financial Report for November

The State Controller’s office has released the November cash report for the State’s General Fund. Five months into the fiscal year (2015-2016), total receipts were up by 7.7% to $37.8 billion compared with the same period last year. Total disbursements ($52.5 billion) were down by 5.5% over the same period, but still exceeded cash receipts by $14.7 billion. As of November 30, the state’s cash balance stood at -$12.2 billion.

Total revenues (receipts from taxes, licenses, fees or investment earnings) were up by 8.1% to $37.0 billion compared with the first five months of the previous fiscal year. So far this year, total revenues are running slightly ahead of expectations even though two of the state’s top three revenue sources are falling short.

• Personal income tax revenues increased by 9.9% to $24.2 billion, beating expectations by $888.2 billion or 3.8%. Steady employment growth in California and rising incomes are the primary drivers of personal income tax growth, the state’s largest revenue source (56% of the total).
• Corporate income taxes, always volatile, plunged by 21.3% to $1.5 billion, missing the budget forecast by 8.6%.
• Revenues from sales and use taxes were up by 8.5% to $9.6 billion, but was short of expectations by 2.3%. Improvements in the state’s employment situation would generally imply more spending on taxable goods but consumers may be directing a greater share of their discretionary income to spending on services

The schedule of cash disbursements in the Controller’s report showed that expenditures on Local K-12 Education were $16.5 billion during the first five months of the fiscal year, a steep decline of 17.8% compared with the same period last year. Expenditures for Community Colleges dropped by 2.1% to $2.3 billion. Meanwhile, the UC and CSU systems have won a bit more breathing room this year. Disbursements were up by 5.2% (to $2.7 billion) from the year ago level. Contributions to CalSTRS (the state teachers’ pension fund) increased by 30.2% to $967.6 million.

Spending for the Department of Corrections was up slightly over the year, rising by 3.0% to $4.1 billion. Funds allocated to health and human services increased by 5.3% to $1.2 billion. The amount the state paid to service its debt obligation jumped by 13.6% to $2.5 billion.

As of November 30, the General Fund had $21.0 billion in unused borrowable resources against $12.2 billion in outstanding loans, which are composed entirely of internal borrowing. Because the Controller’s office is able to cover monthly cash shortfalls with internal borrowing (for the first time in 15 years), it is saving the state tens of millions of dollars in interest costs. 

Sources:  http://www.sco.ca.gov/eo_pressrel.html

U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Setting Records

In November, U.S. light vehicle sales were up by 6.1% over the year to 18.1 million units (seasonally adjusted annualized rate). This marked the first time on record that the pace auto sales surpassed 18 million units for three consecutive months. On a per unit volume basis, 1.31 million light vehicles were sold last month, an increase of 1.5% over year ago levels and the highest November volume in 14 years.

U.S. auto sales continue to be dominated by demand for light trucks, SUV and crossover utility vehicles (CUVs). Sales increased by 14.9% over the year in November to 10.5 million units and accounted for 58.3% of the light vehicle sales mix. This was the highest share since reaching 61% in July 2005. The average share of light truck sales going back to 1996 is 50.7%.

• Sales of domestic trucks increased by 8.3% over the year to 8.4 million units
• Foreign light truck sales, which account for 20% of the U.S. light truck market, surged by 52.3% to 2.1 million units
• Compared with October, sales of pick-ups, SUVs and CUVs edged up by 1.5%.

Total passenger car sales, including foreign and domestic models, declined by 4.2% over the year to 7.5 million units.

• Sales of domestic autos were down by 5.5% over the year to 5.6 million units
• Sales of foreign passenger cars slipped by 0.2% to 2.0 million units
• Compared with October, total passenger car sales fell by 2.8%

Sales of medium-heavy trucks used by businesses for hauling freight and making deliveries, rose by 6.9% over the year in November to 447,000 vehicles. 

With one month remaining in this year, vehicle sales are poised to reach 17.8 million units, eclipsing the previous sales record set in 2000. November sales were buoyed by Black Friday close out specials and strong dealer incentives throughout the month. Overall demand continues to be supported by relatively easy credit conditions, employment gains and generally upbeat economic news, while low fuel prices are supporting the continuing popularity of pickup trucks and SUVs. 

Source:  www.bea.gov

U.S. Labor Market Delivers in November

The U.S. Labor Market Report covering the national employment situation in November showed a gain of 211,000 nonfarm jobs. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.0%. The average workweek edged down by 0.1 hour to 34.5 hours, but the average hourly wage increased by four cents to $25.25. Over the year, average hourly earnings were up by 2.3%.

The employer payroll survey reported that total nonfarm employment in the United States increased by 211,000 jobs in November. The private sector contributed 197,000 jobs to the November increase, while the public sector added 14,000 jobs with gains at all three levels of government: federal, state and local. Employment growth was broad based with nearly every major industry sector adding jobs over the month. The exceptions were manufacturing, hurt by weak export growth and the strong dollar, mining and logging (primarily in the energy extraction sector), and information.  There was also a positive net revision to the September and October figures of 35,000 jobs. Over the past three months, job gains have averaged 218,000 per month. The 2015 year-to-date average monthly gain was 220,000 jobs, somewhat below the 253,000 figure recorded for the same period in 2014.

On a year-to-year basis, U.S. employment expanded by 2.637 million jobs, an increase of 1.9%. In year-to-year terms (YTY), mining and logging was the only major industry to record a decline with a loss of 123,000 jobs (-13.5%). The largest YTY gain occurred in health care and social assistance with 580,800 jobs added over the year, an increase of 3.2%. Leisure and hospitality added 438,000 jobs (up 2.9%). Professional and technical services also posted a strong gain (298,400 jobs, 3.5%), as did retail trade (284,200 jobs, 1.8%).

Turning to the household survey, in November, the unemployment rate held steady over the month at 5.0% and was down from the year-ago rate of 5.8%. The labor force participation rate increased slightly over the month, rising to 62.5% and bringing 273,000 workers into the workforce. Last year at this time, it was 62.9%.

The more comprehensive U-6 unemployment rate was 9.9%, well below the 20-year average for this indicator of 10.7%. The U-6 unemployment rate counts part-time workers who would prefer full-time work and individuals who would like to work but have given up looking for a job.

Other indicators also demonstrate labor market slack is diminishing. The share of workers who have been jobless for 27 weeks or more dropped to 25.7% of all unemployed persons, down from the year ago rate of 31.0%. The average rate going back to 1990 is 25%. Over the past 12 months, the number of long-term unemployed persons has fallen by 782,000. The median duration of unemployment is also on the decline, falling from 12.8 weeks in November 2014 to 10.9 weeks last month.

Summary: The labor markets delivered another strong performance in November. With manufacturing jobs edging lower last month, and mining employment falling for the 11th consecutive month, the services sector delivered 163,000 jobs, while the rebound in residential and nonresidential construction pushed construction employment higher by 46,000 jobs. Overall job growth has kept the unemployment rate steady at its lowest rate in seven years, and wage growth continues to outpace inflation.

Source:  http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

Personal Income Growth Strengthens

Although holiday retail sales have gotten off to a slow start, the uptick in personal income in October may be a sign of better things to come for the nation’s retailers. Total personal income in the U.S. increased in October by 0.4% on a nominal basis. Wages and salaries, the largest component of personal income, rose by a robust 0.6%.

Real disposable income (adjusted for taxes and inflation) also increased by 0.4%. Real personal consumption expenditures, on the other hand, were up by a tepid 0.1%. Accordingly, the personal saving rate rose from 5.3% in September to 5.6% in October. Real spending on durable goods was up by 0.2% over the month, while spending on nondurable goods edged up by 0.1%. Spending on services, which comprise 65% of consumer spending, was flat.

On a year-to-year basis, incomes and spending moved higher in October:

• Real disposable income growth rose by 3.9% in October, the same rate as September.
• Real personal consumption expenditures grew by 2.7%
• Growth in real spending on goods (3.7%) outpaced spending on services (2.2%) although in dollar terms, Americans spend more than two times as much on services as they do goods.

Consumer prices ticked up by 0.1% in October and were up over the year by 0.2%. Excluding food and energy, prices advanced by 1.3%.

Personal income growth in October taken together with weaker than expected spending implies consumers were in a good position ahead of the holidays. The next two months will tell if higher incomes translate to an increase consumer spending and a happy holiday season for the nation’s retailers.

Source:  http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/pi/pinewsrelease.htm

SoCal Home Sales and Median Prices in October

Southern California home sales increased slightly over the year in October, edging up by 1.3% to 19,930 units (new and resale houses and condominiums). Although sales have now risen on year-over-year basis for nine months in a row, the October advance was the second smallest over that period coming in just ahead of February’s gain of 0.5%. After a comparatively strong summer, sales dipped more than usual from September to October, falling by 5.5% over the month.

The median price across Southern California increased by 5.6% over the year to October to $435,000 but was flat over the month. The median prices has now risen for 43 consecutive months on a year-over–year basis but remains 13.9% below the peak price reached in mid-2007. The share of sales for homes priced above $500,000 was 39.8% in October, up from 36.4% a year ago. The number of homes sold for $500,000 or more increased by 10.8% over the year, while sales for less than $500,000 were up by just 0.8%.

Sales remained constrained by the lack of inventory and declining affordability. More buyers of low- to mid-prices homes are turning to low down payment FHA loans for which the mortgage premium insurance was lowered this year. The increased use of these loans is contributing to the limited supply of homes in more affordable markets. These same markets have also experienced some of the sharpest increases in median prices. Meanwhile, although investor purchases have been trending lower, they are still above normal and tend to be in lower-priced areas, adding to demand. On the supply side, new home construction is still below historical levels and what is being built has been in the mid- to high-price range. This is understandable given high development costs, but it further exacerbates supply and affordability issues. 

Source:  http://www.corelogic.com/solutions/configurable-real-estate-data-reports.aspx/

California Home Sales and Median Prices in October

The California Association of Realtors recently released their report on California existing home sales and median prices in October. The statewide median price fell by 1.3% compared with September to $475,990, but was up over the year by 5.7%.

The number of single-family homes in California that closed escrow in October increased by 1.3% over the year to 403,510 units (seasonally adjusted annualized rate). Compared with September, sales were down by 5.1%. The year-to-year gain was the lowest since January 2015 and was well below the six-month average increase of 9.7% recorded between April and September of this year.

California home sales are on track to close the year with a mid-single digit increase over last year. Employment growth and low interest rates should keep demand growing at a modest pace through the remaining months of 2015, but housing affordability is a big issue in many parts of California and is negatively impacting sales in some regions. The Bay Area in particular continues to see sharp increases in median price due to a shortage of homes for sale. As a result, homeownership is increasingly out of reach for more and more people.

Below is a year-over-year summary of sales and price activity in Southern California by county. Although the statewide sales figures are seasonally adjusted, regional and county figures are not.

§  Los Angeles County:  unit sales declined by 1.4% over the year in October, while the median price rose by 6.7% to $509,570.

§  Orange County: sales edged higher by 1.9% and the median price increased by 1.7% to $704,370

§  Riverside County:  sales of existing homes rose by 4.5% and the median price moved higher by 4.0% to $334,660.

§  San Bernardino County:  sales dipped by 0.7% in October but the median price was up by 11.2% to $231,330.

§  San Diego County:  unit sales edged down by 0.5% as the median price rose by   9.3% to $539,000.

§  Ventura County:  sales increased by 11.6% over the year while the median price rose by 3.6% to $604,610.

Source: http://www.car.org/newsstand/newsreleases/2015releases/october2015sales?view=Standard

October State and Local Employment Report

The Employment Development Department (EDD) released the state and local employment reports for the month of October. Total California nonfarm employment increased by 41,200 jobs over the month in seasonally adjusted (SA) terms. Moreover, the 8,200 job gain initially reported for September was revised up to 21,100 jobs.

The year-over-year change showed an increase of 463,000 jobs (SA). This equated to a growth rate of 2.9%, once again exceeding the October national increase of 2.0%. California’s private sector added 427,200 jobs (an increase of 3.2% over the year), while employment in the public sector rose by 1.5% (35,800).

There was little change in employment trends across industries. Nine of the 11 super-sectors added jobs over the year to October: construction; trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; professional and business services; educational and health services; leisure and hospitality; other services and government for a combined gain of 468,300 jobs. Professional and business services once again posted the largest gain on a numerical basis, adding 130,000 jobs (up 5.3%), while construction continues to claim the largest gain in percentage terms, increasing by 7.3% and adding 49,800 jobs.

Two sectors that recorded a decline over the year in October. Mining and logging was down by 7.4%, a loss of 2,300 jobs; manufacturing employment edged down by 0.2% or 3,000 jobs.

California’s unemployment rate declined slightly from 5.9% in September to 5.8% in October and was down from the year ago rate of 7.2%. California’s unemployment rate is now the lowest it has been since December 2007 when it was also 5.8%. The civilian labor force edged down over the month by 0.1%, but was up over the year by 0.6%. Of the 11.4 million Californians not in the labor force, 808,000 (7.1%) say they would like a job, while 0.7% of that group reported being discouraged over job prospects.

County highlights:

(Note: With the exception of the Los Angeles unemployment rate, county level numbers are not seasonally adjusted, which means there can be large month-to-month fluctuations in job counts. A truer picture of how local labor markets are faring is revealed by focusing on the year-over-year numbers. Annual trends “correct” for the seasonal factors that influence certain industry sectors over the course of the year.)

·      In Los Angeles County, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.1%, down from 6.5% in September and below the year ago rate of 8.0%. Total nonfarm employment (not seasonally adjusted) increased by 37,800 jobs over the month and was up over the year by 85,300 jobs, an increase of 2.0%.

Educational and health services posted the largest year-over-year gain in employment in October with a net increase of 22,600 jobs. The health care industry added 23,500 jobs, but a drop of 900 jobs in educational services reduced the overall industry gain.

Also recording significant job gains were leisure and hospitality, which picked up 18,700 jobs, most of which were in accommodation and food services, and professional and business services employment with the addition 15,300 jobs.

Four major industry sectors reported year-over-year declines in October: manufacturing employment contracted by 5,000 jobs; information lost 3,400 jobs; financial activities was down by 200 jobs, and in the mining and logging sector, job counts fell by 200.

·         In October, the unemployment rate in Orange County was 4.3%, up from 4.0% in September but below the year-ago figure of 5.2%. Nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 13,900 over the month and were up by 41,000 over the year (an increase of 2.7%).

·      In the Riverside-San Bernardino area, the unemployment rate in October was 6.4% compared with 6.1% in September but below the year ago estimate of 7.7%. The Inland Empire gained 21,400 nonfarm payroll jobs over the month and 43,200 over the year. This represented an increase of 3.3%.

·       In Ventura County, the unemployment rate was 5.4%, down from the year ago estimate of 6.4%. Total nonfarm employment was up by 3,900 over the month and was up over the year by 6,700 jobs (2.3%).

Summary: California’s labor market was back on track in October after a somewhat weaker showing in September and the unemployment rate continued its downward trend. In Southern California, every region saw job gains along with year-over-year decreases in their unemployment rates. Los Angeles County’s unemployment rate fell to 6.1%, the lowest since early 2008.

Sources:  http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/