The U.S. Census Bureau reported new residential building permits were down 7.7% in September to a seasonally adjusted 1.589M, which is virtually unchanged from the September 2020 rate. While single-family permits were down 0.9% from a revised August figure of 1.050M, multifamily permits fell 21%. The number of permits issued in September was the lowest it has been since a year ago with the Northeast reporting at (-20.0%), the West (-10.9%), and South (-6.0%). Only the Midwest saw an increase in permitting activity (+0.5%). Privately-owned housing completions reported at 1.240M, down 4.6% from August, but up 13.0% over September 2020. Single-family housing completions came in at 953K, virtually unchanged from August’s revised rate. Housing starts fell 1.6% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.555M, down 1.6% over August, but up 7.4% over September 2020.

The Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) Beige Book, which is used to gauge economic conditions for FOMC meetings, found that economic activity expanded at a modest to moderate pace in September and October -  this according to the majority of Federal Reserve districts. Some Districts noted that growth was slowed by supply chain constraints, labor shortages, and the uncertainty over the Delta variant. Outlooks for near-term economic activity were encouraging, but some Districts noted a more cautious optimism than in the previous months. Employment increased at a modest to moderate rate, as labor growth was hampered by a low supply of workers. The majority of Districts reported strong wage growth as firms struggled to attract and retain talent. Most Districts reported significant price increases, fueled by rising demand for goods and raw materials. Expectations for future price growth was mixed with some expecting prices to remain high while others expected prices to moderate.

The Labor Department reported a decrease in initial jobless claims for the week ending October 16th. The seasonally adjusted initial claims came in at a 19-month low of 290,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised level. This is the third straight drop. The four-week moving average, which smooths out volatility was 319,750 a decrease of 15,250 from the previous week’s revised average. Continuing claims for state benefits reported in at 2.481M for the week ending October 9th, a decrease of 122,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised 2.603M level. The four-week moving average for continuing claims fell by 84,750 to 2.655M. Continuing claims peaked in April and May last year when it was over 20M. A little over 3.28M people were receiving benefits under all programs for the week ending October 2nd, down 370K from the previous week. There were nearly 23.7M people collecting benefits in the comparable week in 2020.