The U.S. Labor Department latest jobs report showed that the private sector of the national economy added about 344,000 net new jobs. Several manufactured housing producers have reported that despite higher post-pandemic unemployment rates, it was often more difficult to fill jobs. The thrust of the commentary from manufactured home builders has been that the structure of unemployment benefits was often an impediment to hiring at the wage levels the factories typically pay.
According to Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, “The economy continued to add jobs in November, with a 344,000 increase in private sector payrolls and labor demand continuing to grow in most sectors. However, jobs were lost in retail and food and beverage establishments in November, and a number of workers pulled away from the labor force amid rising coronavirus cases. We know from State-by-State data released two weeks ago that the employment situation varies significantly by State: in October, half the States were at 6% unemployment or lower, but two of the largest states—California and New York—were substantially above 9% that month. At 6.7%, the unemployment rate is lower than it was for the first five years of the last Administration following the Great Recession.”
On National Miners Day, we recognize the indispensable contributions of America’s miners to our economy and our way of life. https://t.co/O3yVvEQ9kj #NationalMinersDay pic.twitter.com/sRZXTovH1L
— Secretary Scalia (@SecGeneScalia) December 6, 2020
Jobs have another impact on the manufactured home industry. Besides retirees, it is often workers of various types who purchase manufactured housing. Higher unemployment rates means a percentage of possible selling opportunities that existed pre-COVID19 have been lost to the manufactured home segment of the affordable housing industry.
On the flip side, as the flight from urban centers has continued in 2020, that has in various instances created opportunities that might otherwise not have occurred in the absence of the pandemic and the urban unrest that are cited as factors sparking such moves to suburbs, exurbs and more rural areas. To learn more about those dynamics, click the report linked above.
According to left-of-center CNBC, “In all, the economy has brought back 12.3 million of the 22 million jobs lost in the first two months of the crisis. There are still 10.7 million Americans considered unemployed, compared with 5.8 million in February.
The total of permanent job losers remained at 3.7 million in November, but is up 2.5 million from February.”
CNBC reported that the declared, but not yet certified, ‘victory’ of former Vice President Joe Biden has caused small business confidence to plummet “to an all-time low.”
According to the CNBC/SurveyMonkey Q4 survey, “With a confidence index reading of 48, Main Street’s outlook is now below where it was during the second quarter of this year (49), when lockdowns across the nation were increasing amid the first wave of Covid-19. That Q2 number had been the all-time low previous to the just-completed survey, conducted Nov. 10 to Nov. 17 among more than 2,200 small business owners nationally, using the SurveyMonkey platform.”
As longtime MHProNews reader may recall, the NFIB small business survey optimism survey reported a jump to an all time high following the election of Donald J. Trump in November of 2016.
The net impact of these factors can be gauged in part by the most recent manufactured housing production and shipment data. Unlike the sales of new conventional housing or the resale of existing housing, manufactured homes is in another year-over-year decline. See the report linked below.
Select NFIB Updates
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) have issued several news updates since the last time MHProNews reported on their activities.
NFIB is still pressing for a new round of Congressional SBA PPP relief for small businesses. Reports out of Washington suggest that there is movement toward a deal in the near term.
Numbers or small businesses are looking to hire, says the NFIB. But the NFIB made similar observations to those noted by manufactured home producers did regarding pragmatic barriers to hiring. Those barriers to hiring, despite higher unemployment rates, often revolve around unemployment/pandemic relief plans that paid enough to make it difficult for prospective workers to take a job.
On December 2, NFIB’s advocacy announced it is formally supporting the re-election of Senators David Purdue (GA-R) and Kelly Loeffler (GA-R) in the hotly contested Georgia scheduled runoff election set for January 5, 2021.
They provided the following snapshots of each candidate in the following graphic summaries of the competing candidates on various issues of importance to small businesses.
“Senators Perdue and Loeffler have a true understanding of the challenges Georgia’s small businesses are facing, especially during these unprecedented times,” said Nathan Humphrey, NFIB’s Georgia State Director. “We are confident they will remain strong and reliable advocates for our state’s small businesses in the Senate, and we are pleased to endorse Senators Perdue and Loeffler today.”
NFIB has previously informed MHProNews that they have “hundreds” of manufactured housing industry member companies, even though they do not view themselves as a manufactured home specific trade group. Rather, NFIB advocates for small businesses in general.
MHProNews will continue to monitor and report on NFIB and other relevant trade groups. For other recent reports on industry-connected businesses, trade groups, and related overviews, see the reports linked above and below.
There is always more to read and more to come. Stay tuned with the runaway number one source for authentic “News through the lens of manufactured homes and factory-built housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © ## (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) (See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)
By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHProNews.com.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing.
For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.
This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position, and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
Related References:
The text/image boxes below are linked to other reports, which can be accessed by clicking on them.
