NIC Notes

Insights in Seniors Housing & Care

By: Beth Mace  |  December 04, 2015

At 211,000, November’s Job Gains Are Strong

Economic Trends

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The first Friday of the month at 8:30 EDT is widely anticipated by market participants as the Labor Department presents a fresh gauge of the most recent economic performance in its release of the labor report for the prior month.  Today’s number was even more closely watched since it will be the most up to date information on the labor market that the Federal Reserve has prior to its FOMC meetings on December 15th and 16th.  At these meetings, the Fed will assess the state of the economy and determine whether or not it should raise its benchmark interest rate which has been near zero since the depths of the recession in late 2008. 

For November, a 211,000 job gain was reported, near market expectations, while the prior two months were upwardly revised by a combined 35,000 jobs.  The unemployment rate stayed steady at 5.0% and near a level considered to be “full employment”.   The wider measure of unemployment, the U-6 measure, was 9.9%.  Wage growth came in at 2.3% from year-earlier levels.   

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A separate report, issued earlier this week, showed unit labor costs, were up by 1.8% on an annualized basis in the third quarter. Over the past 12 months, unit labor costs were up by 3.0%, while hourly compensation was up by 3.6%.   Anecdotal evidence from operators also suggest wage pressures are starting to mount, an important consideration for business plans for 2016.

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Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

The report suggests that the economy is strong enough to withstand the effects of higher interest rates.  Earlier this week, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen made comments suggesting a rate hike was imminent as well. 

 

About Beth Mace

Beth Burnham Mace is a special advisor to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) focused exclusively on monitoring and reporting changes in capital markets impacting senior housing and care investments and operations. Mace served as Chief Economist and Director of Research and Analytics during her nine-year tenure on NIC’s leadership team. Before joining the NIC staff in 2014, Mace served on the NIC Board of Directors and chaired its Research Committee. She was also a director at AEW Capital Management and worked in the AEW Research Group for 17 years. Prior to joining AEW, Mace spent 10 years at Standard & Poor’s DRI/McGraw-Hill as director of its Regional Information Service. She also worked as a regional economist at Crocker Bank, and for the National Commission on Air Quality, the Brookings Institution, and Boston Edison. Mace is currently a member of the Institutional Real Estate Americas Editorial Advisory Board. In 2020, Mace was inducted into the McKnight’s Women of Distinction Hall of Honor. In 2014, she was appointed a fellow at the Homer Hoyt Institute and was awarded the title of a “Woman of Influence” in commercial real estate by Real Estate Forum Magazine and Globe Street. Mace earned an undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College and a master’s degree from the University of California. She also earned a Certified Business Economist™ designation from the National Association of Business Economists.

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