Jobs Picture Improving For First Time Home Buyers: Trulia

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - The December jobs report has some good news for the housing market.

Trulia economist Jed Kolko notes that the employment picture for 25-34 year olds -- the prime age group for housing demand -- is continuing to improve. The unemployment rate for young adults dipped to 7.7% in December, below the rate for all adults at 7.8%.

First time home buyers were worst affected during the recession but have made strong gains in the recovery. 75.6% of young adults were employed in December, up from 75.3% in November and from 73.9% in December 2011. In contrast, the employment rate for adults overall was 58.6% in December - unchanged from one year earlier.

Another trend that is positive for the housing market is the final pick up in construction jobs. "Over the past quarter, construction jobs increased by 3.3% (annualized rate), and residential-building construction employment rose at a 2.3% annualized rate, ahead of employment overall, which expanded by 1.4%."

The U.S. work force added 155,000 jobs in December, the Labor Department said Friday. The consensus was for nonfarm payrolls to rise by 150,000 in the month, following a 146,000 increase in November.

-- Written by Shanthi Bharatwaj in New York.

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