The U.S. Census Bureau reported that housing starts fell in April coming in at a seasonally adjusted 1.57M, this represents a 9.5% decrease over March’s downwardly revised 1.73M. Single-family starts declined 13.4% to a rate of 1.09M from the revised March rate of 1.26M. However, housing starts are tracking +67.3% year-over-year. New housing permits increased 0.3% in April to a seasonally adjusted 1.76M and are tracking +60.9% year-over-year. Single‐family permits fell 3.8% in April to 1.15M following a revised March rate of 1.19M. Regional new housing permits issued by region reported as follows: Northeast +8.4%, Midwest -9.9%, South +3.9%, and West -4.1%. The number of single-family homes permitted but not started increased in April to 131,000 units, a 47% year-over-year increase. Housing completions decreased 4.4% to a seasonally adjusted 1.45M and are tracking 21.7 % above April 2020’s 1.19M.

The Department of Labor reported that for the week ending May 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 444,000, a decrease of 34,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The 4-week moving average decreased to 504,750, a 30,500 drop from the previous week’s revised average. States with the biggest declines include Georgia (-8,216), Kentucky (-7,175) and Texas (-4,828), while New Jersey (+4,384), Washington (+2,309), and Oklahoma (+2,228) experienced increases. Continuing claims for ongoing benefits rose by 111,000 to 3.75M for the week ending May 8th.  The total number of all those claiming unemployment-related benefits decreased to 15.97M for the week of May 1st, a drop of almost 900K from the previous week

Markit’s U.S. Flash Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for May found a continuing acceleration in business activity growth as readings set series record highs. The composite PMI increased from 63.5 in April to a series high 68.1, with increases from both manufacturing (+1.6%) and services (+8.3%). Service providers reported a solid expansion in staffing levels, and manufacturers noted a rise in new orders with improvements coming from greater customer confidence and the further reopening of the economy.  While employment rose for the eleventh straight month, the rate of increase slowed due to difficulties filling vacancies. Manufacturers reported higher order volumes due to material shortages and efforts to stockpile ahead of rising costs, in addition new exports rose at a series high pace.