Housing Silver Lining: Fewer Deaths On The Job [Housing Tracker]

Macro Effects of the Housing Slump

Construction Spending Slides. “Census Bureau: Spending on residential construction projects in July fell 27.5% from a year ago. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of private residential construction was $357.8 billion in July, compared with $493.6B a year earlier, and was down 2.3% from $366.1B in June '08. Spending has fallen [for] 17 straight months. Total construction spending, which includes residential, commercial, highways, schools, hotels and government buildings, sank 4.8% year-over-year in July, from $1.14B to $1.08B, and was down 0.6% from $1.09B in June.” (Inman News, Sept. 3)

Manufacturing Contracts In August, Construction Dipped To 7-Year Low In July; Outlook Grim. “Commerce Dept.: Construction spending is at a seven-year low that has spread from housing to nonresidential projects… Construction spending declined 0.6% in July, double the 0.3% decrease analysts had expected… Nonresidential activity, which had been offsetting some of the weakness in the residential sector, also fell in July, dropping 0.7 percent to an annual rate of $416.8 billion. It was the first setback in that category since December.” (AP In-Forum, Sept. 2)

No One Lives There Anymore. “Across the U.S., neighborhoods are littered with an estimated 900,000 vacant homes, the result of foreclosures, bank repossessions and abandonment. And with defaults rising nationwide, the number is expected to grow well into next year. Such blight is contagious… attracting crime and prolong the housing slump by depressing the value of nearby homes and adding to the nation’s already bloated unsold inventory… Most foreclosed houses would sell eventually, but not in time to halt the decline in the quality of life that is already under way, or the fracturing of the areas’ tax base.” (NY Times Op-Ed., Aug. 30)

Fewer People Dying At Work.  “A bad economy has had at least one positive result — fewer deaths at work. Workplace deaths dropped 24% last year in California, from 537 in 2006 to 407. Much of the decline came in the construction trades, where a slowing economy cut into both employment and dangerous work… The estimated toll of 407 workplace fatalities in 2007 was the lowest in the state for at least 12 years. Construction-related deaths in California dropped by 41%... Employment Development Department: The state’s construction industry lost an estimated 83,100 wage-and-salary jobs from July 2007 to July 2008.” (Sacramento Business Journal, Aug. 29)

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Comments

[notsosmart:]

hey -no construction no deaths.what a saving on workmens comp.

2008 Sep 04 01:10 PM