With a possible recession on the horizon and a wave of high-profile layoff announcements, many real estate professionals were concerned with the idea that job gains in the sector would tumble. Fortunately, the rate of new real estate hires has merely slowed instead of stopped completely.
The latest jobs report released last month shows that, despite the Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy in a bid to combat excessive price inflation, non-farm payrolls in the United States saw an increase of 372,000 jobs. Real estate firms in the financial sector (a category that includes brokerages) added 3,700 positions in June on a seasonally adjusted basis. That represents a decrease from prior months when businesses created 6,100 and 7,400 real estate jobs, respectively. Nonetheless, that number represents a healthy level that keeps up with the overall speed of the economy amid an unexpectedly robust month for job growth.
But the good news does not extend to other sectors that touch real estate. On a seasonally adjusted basis, more than 4,000 jobs were lost between homebuilders and residential trade contractors from May to June. About 0.1 percent of all residential construction jobs are affected by this relatively minor decline, but yet marks a significant change from the robust hiring figures of prior months. This news may support the idea that the real estate industry might fair well through a downturn, but if investors place more emphasis on interest rates (which are likely rise at least once more this year), the sector could start to see more layoffs and less hiring.