The big story last week was the poor jobs report. The Labor Department reported 467,000 jobs lost in the month of June, far worse than expectations of 365,000. The Unemployment rate rose to 9.5%, its highest level since August of 1983 and up from last month’s 9.4% reading. And unlike Job creations, the Unemployment Rate is an actual telephone survey of approximately 60,000 households, which makes this number more reliable. But something to consider, is the growing number of individuals who are employed by temporary or part-time means. The US has lost about 6.5 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, which is the biggest drop seen in any post-World War II economic slump.
Consumer Confidence also came in worse than expected. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which improved considerably in May and was up for the third straight month, retreated in June. The Index now stands at 49.3, down from 54.8 in May. Although the poor jobs and consumer sentiment numbers pushed the stock market down, mortgage rates remained unchanged for the week. We have certainly make back a good portion of the losses we had in mortgage rates several weeks ago, but the sentiment continues to be that the best in mortgage rates may be behind us. Nonetheless, rates are very low and the next six months may present excellent refinancing opportunities if you have not done so already.
This report is provided by one of our mortgage partners, Austin Andruss, who can be reached at 415-869-6135.