Labor/Economy

The federal government’s budget deficit dropped sharply in the first seven months of fiscal 2014 (beginning Oct. 1, 2013), according to a report by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

The Pew Research Center reported that despite falling unemployment and various other improving economic metrics, a recent survey of Americans found that most people are still relatively pessimistic about the state of the U.S. economy, a belief that tends to depress consumer activity.

The state of the housing market’s been getting some worried attention lately but the National Association of Home Builders offered a small but hopeful note.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reports the rate of U.S. mortgage applications each week, and it goes up and down according to the vagaries of the economy and interest rates.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released the real estate-related components of the government’s latest estimate for U.S. GDP growth.

Black Knight (formerly LPS) released its Mortgage Monitor report, reporting that 5.52 percent of U.S. residential mortgages were delinquent for the month, down from 5.97 percent in February (more than 30 days late, but not in foreclosure).

Recent employment numbers came in better than expected, posting the largest employment rise in about two years, though it isn’t clear yet whether the increase is a one-off surge or the start of a longer-term pattern of healthy job creation—something that’s been a long time in coming

The Census Bureau reported that construction spending during March was at an annualized rate of $942.5 billion, or 0.2 percent above the revised February rate. The March 2014 figure is 8.4 percent above the March 2013’s annualized rate of $869.2 billion.