Calculated Risk

Trade Deficit Decreased to $60.2 Billion in June

The Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported:
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that the goods and services deficit was $60.2 billion in June, down $11.5 billion from $71.7 billion in May, revised.

June exports were $277.3 billion, $1.3 billion less than May exports. June imports were $337.5 billion, $12.8 billion less than May imports.
emphasis added
U.S. Trade Exports Imports Click on graph for larger image.

Exports and imports decreased in June.

Exports were up 3.3% year-over-year; imports were down 1.4% year-over-year.
Imports increased sharply earlier this year as importers rushed to beat tariffs.  

The second graph shows the U.S. trade deficit, with and without petroleum.

U.S. Trade Deficit The blue line is the total deficit, and the black line is the petroleum deficit, and the red line is the trade deficit ex-petroleum products.

Note that net, exports of petroleum products are positive and have been increasing.

The trade deficit with China decreased to $9.5 billion from $22.8 billion a year ago.

Tuesday: Trade Deficit, ISM Services, NY Fed Household Debt and Credit

Mortgage Rates From Matthew Graham at Mortgage News Daily: Lowest Mortgage Rates Since Early October
Friday's reaction was so big that the average mortgage lender didn't fully adjust their rate offerings to match the market movement. This is typical of very large swings in bonds. It also meant that we merely needed today's bond market levels to hold steady in order for rates to continue lower and that's exactly what happened.

In fact, bonds ultimately improved just a hair, but even before that, mortgage lenders were out with their lowest rates since early October. [30 year fixed 6.57%]
emphasis added
Tuesday:
• At 8:30 AM ET, Trade Balance report for June from the Census Bureau. The consensus is the trade deficit to be $67.6 billion.  The U.S. trade deficit was at $71.5 Billion the previous month.

• At 10:00 AM, the ISM Services Index for July.   The consensus is for a reading of 51.5, up from 50.8.

• At 11:00 AM, NY Fed: Q2 Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit

Heavy Truck Sales Decreased 12% YoY in July

This graph shows heavy truck sales since 1967 using data from the BEA. The dashed line is the July 2025 seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) of 455 thousand.

Note: "Heavy trucks - trucks more than 14,000 pounds gross vehicle weight."

Heavy Truck Sales Click on graph for larger image.

Heavy truck sales were at 455 thousand SAAR in July, up from 443 thousand in June, and down 12.0% from 517 thousand SAAR in July 2024.
Year-to-date (NSA) sales are down 6.8% through July.
Usually, heavy truck sales decline sharply prior to a recession and sales have been a little soft recently.  

Fed July SLOOS Survey: Banks reported Weaker Demand for Most Loan Categories

From the Federal Reserve: The July 2025 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices
The July 2025 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices (SLOOS) addressed changes in the standards and terms on, and demand for, bank loans to businesses and households over the past three months, which generally correspond to the second quarter of 2025.

Regarding loans to businesses over the second quarter, survey respondents reported, on balance, tighter lending standards and weaker demand for commercial and industrial (C&I) loans to firms of all sizes. Furthermore, banks generally reported tighter standards and weaker demand for commercial real estate (CRE) loans.

For loans to households, banks reported basically unchanged lending standards and weaker demand for residential mortgage loans, on balance. In addition, banks reported tighter lending standards and stronger demand for home equity lines of credit (HELOCs). For consumer loans, standards tightened for credit card loans and remained basically unchanged for auto and other consumer loans. Meanwhile, demand weakened for credit card and other consumer loans and strengthened for auto loans.

The July SLOOS included a set of special questions inquiring about the current level of lending standards relative to the midpoint of the range over which banks’ standards have varied since 2005. Banks reported that, on balance, levels of standards are currently on the tighter end of the range for all loan categories. Compared with the July 2024 survey, banks reported easier levels of standards for most loan categories except residential real estate (RRE) loans, for which levels of standards were comparable with July 2024.
emphasis added
Senior Loan Officer Survey, Real Estate Loan Demand Click on graph for larger image.

This graph on Residential Real Estate demand is from the Senior Loan Officer Survey Charts.

This graph is for demand and shows that demand has been weak since late 2021.
The left graph is from 1990 to 2014.  The right graph is from 2015 to Q1 2025.
Only demand for HELOCs was reported as stronger.

How Much will the Fannie & Freddie Conforming Loan Limit Change for 2026?

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: How Much will the Fannie & Freddie Conforming Loan Limit Change for 2026?

A brief excerpt:
With house prices up low-single digits over the last year through mid-year, an interesting question is: How much will the Fannie & Freddie conforming loan limits (CLL) change for 2026? And how much will the FHA insured loan limits change?

First, there are different loan limits for various geographical areas. There are also different loan limits depending on the number of units (from 1 to 4 units). For example, currently the CLL is $806,500 for one-unit properties in most areas. For high-cost areas like Los Angeles County, the CLL is $1,209,750 for one-unit properties (50% higher than the baseline CLL).
...
Conforming Loan LimitNote that during periods when house prices decline, the CLL is not reduced. The CLL was at $417,000 from 2006 through 2016 and only increased slightly in 2017 as the house price index caught back up to the previous high reached during the housing bubble. This graph shows the CLL since 1979. The CLL was unchanged from 2006 though 2016.

We need the house price data through September 2025 to calculate the conforming loan limit for 2026. This quarterly data will be released in late November.
There is much more in the article.

Light Vehicles Sales Increased to 16.41 million SAAR in July

The BEA reported this morning that light vehicle sales were at 16.41 million in July on a seasonally adjusted annual rate basis (SAAR).

This was up 7.1% from the sales rate in June, and up 3.7% from July 2024.

Vehicle SalesClick on graph for larger image.

This graph shows light vehicle sales since 2006 from the BEA (blue) through July (red).
Vehicle sales were over 17 million SAAR in March and April as consumers rushed to "beat the tariffs".
Then sales were depressed in May and June. 

The second graph shows light vehicle sales since the BEA started keeping data in 1967.

Vehicle SalesSales in July were at the consensus forecast of 16.4 million SAAR.

Housing August 4th Weekly Update: Inventory up 0.6% Week-over-week; Down 10% from 2019 Levels

Altos reports that active single-family inventory was up 0.6% week-over-week.
Inventory is now up 38.6% from the seasonal bottom in January.   Usually, inventory is up about 22% from the seasonal low by this week in the year.   So, 2025 is seeing a larger than normal increase in inventory.
The first graph shows the seasonal pattern for active single-family inventory since 2015.
Altos Year-over-year Home InventoryClick on graph for larger image.

The red line is for 2025.  The black line is for 2019.  
Inventory was up 26.6% compared to the same week in 2024 (last week it was up 27.0%), and down 10.0% compared to the same week in 2019 (last week it was down 10.3%). 
It now appears inventory will be close to 2019 levels towards the end of 2025.
Altos Home InventoryThis second inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research.
As of August 1st, inventory was at 866 thousand (7-day average), compared to 860 thousand the prior week. 
Mike Simonsen discusses this data and much more regularly on YouTube

Sunday Night Futures

Weekend:
Schedule for Week of August 3, 2025

Monday:
• At 2:00 PM ET, Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices (SLOOS) for July.

From CNBC: Pre-Market Data and Bloomberg futures S&P 500 are down 9 and DOW futures are down 43 (fair value).

Oil prices were up over the last week with WTI futures at $67.33 per barrel and Brent at $69.67 per barrel. A year ago, WTI was at $75, and Brent was at $78 - so WTI oil prices are down about 11% year-over-year.

Here is a graph from Gasbuddy.com for nationwide gasoline prices. Nationally prices are at $3.13 per gallon. A year ago, prices were at $3.46 per gallon, so gasoline prices are down $0.33 year-over-year.

The Composition of the FOMC

IMPORTANT: It is critical that the Fed stay independent, data driven, and immune to political pressure. This is also true for the Federal statistical agencies, and the firing of the highly respected BLS commissioner on Friday (because of the bad employment report) is very concerning. The U.S. Senate must ensure that the next BLS commissioner is respected, data driven, and immune to political pressure.

On Friday, Fed Governor Adriana Kugler resigned. This created some concern that she was leaving early and creating a vacancy at a crucial time at the Fed.  The Fed needs to be independent, data driven, and not subject to political whims.  
In the case of Dr. Kugler, she was appointed to an unexpired term, and her term was scheduled to end in January 2026 (just six months from now). It is likely she left a little early to be available at the start of a school year (she is a professor). So, this is not a big deal. She will miss four FOMC meetings: Sept, Oct, Dec and Jan 2026.
FOMC Composition

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is composed of seven Fed Governors, the President of the NY Fed, and four rotating Federal Reserve Bank district Presidents (there are 12 Fed Districts).

Fed Governors

The Fed Governers are appointed to 14-year terms (every 2 years a term expires). If a Fed Governor leaves early, the President can appoint someone to fill the unexpired term.

This means each President appoints 2 governors and can also fill any unexpired terms.

The other Fed Governor whose term is scheduled to expire while Trump is President is Jerome Powell in January 2028. If he decides to leave early (likely), Trump can appoint someone to fill the unexpired term - and then appoint someone for 14 years in January 2028.  It is possible (but unlikely) that Powell will stay until 2028.
Here are the other five Fed Governors:
Christopher J. Waller, appointed by Trump, term expires January 2030 Michael S. Barr, appointed by Biden, term expires January 2032
Michelle W. Bowman, appointed by Trump, term expires January 2034
Philip N. Jefferson, appointed by Biden, term expires January 2036Lisa D. Cook, appointed by Biden, term expires January 2038

Federal Reserve Bank Presidents on the FOMC

Fed District Presidents serve five-year terms and are appointed by the Directors of each Federal Reserve Bank. The current terms all end in January 2026, but frequently Fed Presidents are reappointed.

This year (2025) the five Fed Presidents on the FOMC are:

John C. Williams, New York, Vice Chair
Susan M. Collins, Boston
Austan D. Goolsbee, Chicago
Alberto G. Musalem, St. Louis
Jeffrey R. Schmid, Kansas City

Next year (2026), the Five Fed Presidents will be (it is likely most, if not all, will be reappointed in January):

John C. Williams, New York, Vice Chair
Beth M. Hammack, Cleveland
Neel Kashkari, Minneapolis
Lorie K. Logan, Dallas
Anna Paulson, Philadelphia

This is a qualified group. Even if Powell leaves, and four of the seven Fed Governors are Trump appointees, I think the majority of the FOMC will be very data dependent - and not swayed by politics.  And it is a COMMITEE vote!  There is the possibility we could see the first ever dissent by a Fed Chair.  

Note: The Fed Chair must be one of the Fed Governors. Trump could appoint someone to fill the last six months of Dr. Kugler's unexpired term and then appoint someone else in January that he intends to name Fed Chair.

Real Estate Newsletter Articles this Week: Case-Shiller: National House Price Index Up 2.3% year-over-year in May

At the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter this week:

Case-Shiller House Prices IndicesClick on graph for larger image.

Case-Shiller: National House Price Index Up 2.3% year-over-year in May

Freddie Mac House Price Index Declined in June; Up 2.0% Year-over-year

Inflation Adjusted House Prices 2.0% Below 2022 Peak

Fannie and Freddie: Single Family Serious Delinquency Rates Decreased in June

This is usually published 4 to 6 times a week and provides more in-depth analysis of the housing market.

Schedule for Week of August 3, 2025

This will be a light week for economic data.

The key report this week is the June Trade Deficit.

----- Monday, August 4th -----
2:00 PM: Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices (SLOOS) for July.

----- Tuesday, August 5th -----
U.S. Trade Deficit8:30 AM: Trade Balance report for June from the Census Bureau.

This graph shows the U.S. trade deficit, with and without petroleum, through the most recent report. The blue line is the total deficit, and the black line is the petroleum deficit, and the red line is the trade deficit ex-petroleum products.

The consensus is the trade deficit to be $67.6 billion.  The U.S. trade deficit was at $71.5 Billion the previous month.

10:00 AM: the ISM Services Index for July.   The consensus is for a reading of 51.5, up from 50.8.

11:00 AM: NY Fed: Q2 Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit

----- Wednesday, August 6th -----
7:00 AM ET: The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the results for the mortgage purchase applications index.

----- Thursday, August 7th -----
8:30 AM: The initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released. The consensus is for initial claims to increase to 220 thousand from 218 thousand last week.

----- Friday, August 8th -----
No major economic releases scheduled.

Realtor.com Reports Most Active "For Sale" Inventory since November 2019

What this means: On a weekly basis, Realtor.com reports the year-over-year change in active inventory and new listings. On a monthly basis, they report total inventory. For July, Realtor.com reported inventory was up 24.8% YoY, but still down 13.4% compared to the 2017 to 2019 same month levels. 
Here is their weekly report: Weekly Housing Trends: Latest Data as of July 26
Active inventory climbed 23.7% year over year

The number of homes active on the market climbed 23.7% year over year, slightly lower than last week. This represents the 90th consecutive week of annual gains in inventory. There were more than 1.1 million homes for sale again last week, marking the 12th week in a row over the million-listing threshold and the highest inventory level since November 2019. Active inventory is growing significantly faster than new listings, an indication that more homes are sitting on the market for longer.

New listings—a measure of sellers putting homes up for sale—rose 5.8% year over year

New listings rose again last week on an annual basis by 5.8% compared with the same period last year. This marks a slight slowdown from last week, in which new listings grew by 7.2% year over year, but is roughly in line with new listing growth throughout this June and July.

The median list price was flat year over year

The median list price posted its first week without year-over-year growth (0%) since May. The median list price per square foot—which adjusts for changes in home size—rose 0.5% year over year and has not fallen in nearly two years, suggesting that the mix of homes for sale is starting to favor smaller and less expensive inventory.
With inventory climbing, and sales depressed, months-of-supply is at the highest level since 2016 putting downward pressure on house prices in an increasing number of areas.

Construction Spending Decreased 0.4% in June

From the Census Bureau reported that overall construction spending decreased:
Construction spending during June 2025 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,136.2 billion, 0.4 percent below the revised May estimate of $2,143.9 billion. The June figure is 2.9 percent below the June 2024 estimate of $2,199.8 billion.
emphasis added
Private spending decreased and public spending increased slightly:
Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,621.9 billion, 0.5 percent below the revised May estimate of $1,630.2 billion. ...

In June, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $514.3 billion, 0.1 percent above the revised May estimate of $513.7 billion.
Construction Spending Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows private residential and nonresidential construction spending, and public spending, since 1993. Note: nominal dollars, not inflation adjusted.

Private residential (red) spending is 9.7% below the peak in 2022.

Private non-residential (blue) spending is 6.6% below the peak in December 2023.

Public construction spending (orange) is at a new peak.

Year-over-year Construction SpendingThe second graph shows the year-over-year change in construction spending.

On a year-over-year basis, private residential construction spending is down 6.2%. Private non-residential spending is down 4.0% year-over-year. Public spending is up 5.2% year-over-year.

This was well below consensus expectations; however, spending for the previous two months was revised up slightly.

ISM® Manufacturing index Decreased to 48.0% in July

(Posted with permission). The ISM manufacturing index indicated contraction. The PMI® was at 48.0% in July, down from 49.0% in June. The employment index was at 43.4%, down from 45.0% the previous month, and the new orders index was at 47.1%, up from 46.4%.

From ISM: Manufacturing PMI® at 48% July 2025 Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in July for the fifth consecutive month, following a two-month expansion preceded by 26 straight months of contraction, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.

The report was issued today by Susan Spence, MBA, Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee:

The Manufacturing PMI® registered 48 percent in July, a 1-percentage point decrease compared to the 49 percent recorded in June. The overall economy continued in expansion for the 63rd month after one month of contraction in April 2020. (A Manufacturing PMI® above 42.3 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy.) The New Orders Index contracted for the sixth month in a row following a three-month period of expansion; the figure of 47.1 percent is 0.7 percentage point higher than the 46.4 percent recorded in June. The July reading of the Production Index (51.4 percent) is 1.1 percentage points higher than June’s figure of 50.3 percent. The Prices Index remained in expansion (or ‘increasing’) territory, registering 64.8 percent, down 4.9 percentage points compared to the reading of 69.7 percent reported in June. The Backlog of Orders Index registered 46.8 percent, up 2.5 percentage points compared to the 44.3 percent recorded in June. The Employment Index registered 43.4 percent, down 1.6 percentage points from June’s figure of 45 percent.

“The Supplier Deliveries Index indicated faster delivery performance after seven consecutive months in expansion (or ‘slower’) territory. The reading of 49.3 percent is down 4.9 percentage points from the 54.2 percent recorded in June. (Supplier Deliveries is the only ISM® Report On Business® index that is inversed; a reading of above 50 percent indicates slower deliveries, which is typical as the economy improves and customer demand increases.) The Inventories Index registered 48.9 percent, down 0.3 percentage point compared to June’s reading of 49.2 percent.

“The New Export Orders Index reading of 46.1 percent is 0.2 percentage point lower than the reading of 46.3 percent registered in June. The Imports Index registered 47.6 percent, 0.2 percentage point higher than June’s reading of 47.4 percent.”

Spence continues, “In July, U.S. manufacturing activity contracted at a faster rate, with declines in the Supplier Deliveries and Employment Indexes contributing as the biggest factors in the 1-percentage point loss of the Manufacturing PMI®.
emphasis added
This suggests manufacturing contracted in July.  This was below the consensus forecast of 49.8. New export orders were still weak; employment was weak and prices very strong.

Comments on July Employment Report

The headline jobs number in the July employment report was below expectations and May and June payrolls were revised down by 258,000 combined.  A weak report. The participation rate and the employment population ratio decreased, and the unemployment rate was increased to 4.2%.
NOTE: Last month I noted that state and local government education hiring was up sharply - probably due to a data collection, timing or seasonal adjustment issue.   That increase was revised away for June. 

Earlier: July Employment Report: 73 thousand Jobs, 4.2% Unemployment Rate
Prime (25 to 54 Years Old) Participation

Employment Population Ratio, 25 to 54Since the overall participation rate is impacted by both cyclical (recession) and demographic (aging population, younger people staying in school) reasons, here is the employment-population ratio for the key working age group: 25 to 54 years old.

The 25 to 54 years old participation rate decreased in July to 83.4% from 83.5% in June.
The 25 to 54 employment population ratio decreased to 80.4% from 80.7% the previous month.
Both are down from the recent peaks, but still near the highest level this millennium.

Average Hourly Wages

WagesThe graph shows the nominal year-over-year change in "Average Hourly Earnings" for all private employees from the Current Employment Statistics (CES).  
There was a huge increase at the beginning of the pandemic as lower paid employees were let go, and then the pandemic related spike reversed a year later.

Wage growth has trended down after peaking at 5.9% YoY in March 2022 and was at 3.9% YoY in July, up from 3.8% YoY in June.
Part Time for Economic Reasons

Part Time WorkersFrom the BLS report:
"The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.7 million, changed little in July. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs."
The number of persons working part time for economic reasons increased in July to 4.68 million from 4.47 million in June.  This is above the pre-pandemic levels.

These workers are included in the alternate measure of labor underutilization (U-6) that increased to 7.9% from 7.7% in the previous month. This is down from the record high in April 2020 of 22.9% and up from the lowest level on record (seasonally adjusted) in December 2022 (6.6%). (This series started in 1994). This measure is above the 7.0% level in February 2020 (pre-pandemic).

Unemployed over 26 Weeks

Unemployed Over 26 WeeksThis graph shows the number of workers unemployed for 27 weeks or more.

According to the BLS, there are 1.83 million workers who have been unemployed for more than 26 weeks and still want a job, up from 1.65 million the previous month.
This is down from post-pandemic high of 4.171 million, and up from the recent low of 1.056 million.

This is above pre-pandemic levels.

Job Streak

Through July 2025, the employment report indicated positive job growth for 54 consecutive months, putting the current streak in 2nd place of the longest job streaks in US history (since 1939).
The streak barely survived the large downward revisions to May and June payrolls!  
Headline Jobs, Top 10 Streaks Year EndedStreak, Months 12020113 2Current, N/A551 3199048 4200746 5197945 6 tie194333 6 tie198633 6 tie200033 9196729 10199525 1Currrent Streak
Summary:

The headline jobs number in the July employment report was below expectations and May and June payrolls were revised down by 258,000 combined.  The participation rate and the employment population ratio decreased, and the unemployment rate was increased to 4.2%.
This was a weak employment report.  

July Employment Report: 73 thousand Jobs, 4.2% Unemployment Rate

From the BLS: Employment Situation
Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in July (+73,000) and has shown little change since April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. The unemployment rate, at 4.2 percent, also changed little in July. Employment continued to trend up in health care and in social assistance. Federal government continued to lose jobs.
...
Revisions for May and June were larger than normal. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for May was revised down by 125,000, from +144,000 to +19,000, and the change for June was revised down by 133,000, from +147,000 to +14,000. With these revisions, employment in May and June combined is 258,000 lower than previously reported.
emphasis added
Employment per monthClick on graph for larger image.

The first graph shows the jobs added per month since January 2021.

Total payrolls increased by 73 thousand in July.  Private payrolls increased by 83 thousand, and public payrolls decreased 10 thousand (Federal payrolls decreased 12 thousand).

Payrolls for May and June were revised down by 258 thousand, combined.
Year-over-year change employment The second graph shows the year-over-year change in total non-farm employment since 1968.

In July, the year-over-year change was 1.54 million jobs.  Year-over-year employment growth is slowing.

The third graph shows the employment population ratio and the participation rate.

Employment Pop Ratio and participation rate The Labor Force Participation Rate decreased to 62.2% in July, from 62.3% in June. This is the percentage of the working age population in the labor force.

The Employment-Population ratio was decreased to 59.6% from 59.7% in June (blue line).
I'll post the 25 to 54 age group employment-population ratio graph later.

unemployment rateThe fourth graph shows the unemployment rate.

The unemployment rate was increased to 4.2% in July from 4.1% in June.

This was below consensus expectations and May and June payrolls were revised down by 258,000 combined.  
A weak report.
I'll have more later ...

Friday: Employment Report, ISM Mfg, Construction Spending

Mortgage Rates Note: Mortgage rates are from MortgageNewsDaily.com and are for top tier scenarios.

Friday:
• At 8:30 AM ET, Employment Report for July.   The consensus is for 118,000 jobs added, and for the unemployment rate to increase to 4.2%.

• At 10:00 AM, ISM Manufacturing Index for July. The consensus is for the ISM to be at 49.8, up from 49.0 in June. 

• Also at 10:00 AM, Construction Spending for June. The consensus is for a 0.1% increase in construction spending.

• Also at 10:00 AM, University of Michigan's Consumer sentiment index (Final for July). 

• Late, Light vehicle sales for July from the BEA. The consensus is for light vehicle sales to be 16.2 million SAAR in July, up from 15.3 million in June (Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate).

July Employment Preview

On Friday at 8:30 AM ET, the BLS will release the employment report for July. The consensus is for 118,000 jobs added, and for the unemployment rate to increase to 4.2%. There were 147,000 jobs added in June, and the unemployment rate was at 4.1%.

Important: As I noted earlier, the large increase in seasonally adjusted education hiring in June was probably a seasonal adjustment issue. There will likely be payback in the July report, and it is possible we will see a seasonally adjusted decline in state and local education of 50 thousand or more for July.

From Goldman Sachs:
We forecast a 100k increase in payrolls in July. Big data indicators point to a rebound in private sector job growth, though to a still soft pace. ... We expect the unemployment rate to rebound to 4.2% based on the signal from other measures of labor market slack such as continuing jobless claims.
emphasis added
From BofA:
July NFP are likely to rise by 60k. State & local gov’t jobs should drop after spiking in June. Meanwhile, we think private payrolls will pick up to +85k because of the ongoing decline in initial claims. It is probably too early to see a big impact from immigration policy. But high continuing claims and unfavorable seasonals could be headwinds. ... The u-rate should rise to a still-benign 4.2%.
ADP Report: The ADP employment report showed 104,000 private sector jobs were added in July.  This was above consensus forecasts and suggests BLS reported job gains at consensus expectations, however, in general, ADP hasn't been very useful in forecasting the BLS report.

ISM Surveys: Not available yet for July.

Unemployment Claims: The weekly claims report showed fewer initial unemployment claims during the reference week at 230,000 in July compared to 246,000 in June.  This suggests fewer layoffs in July compared to June.

Conclusion: Over the last 6 months, employment gains averaged 130 thousand per month.  The ADP report and unemployment claims suggest a decent month.  However, my guess is we will start to see the impact of policy - a little more hiring hesitancy - and I expect a hit from education hiring (SA), so I'll take the under for July.

Hotels: Occupancy Rate Decreased 0.7% Year-over-year; Weak Summer Continues

From STR: U.S. hotel results for week ending 26 July
The U.S. hotel industry reported negative year-over-year comparisons, according to CoStar’s latest data through 26 July. ...

20-26 July 2025 (percentage change from comparable week in 2024):

Occupancy: 71.5% (-0.7%)
• Average daily rate (ADR): US$164.88 (-0.1%)
• Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$117.88 (-0.8%)
emphasis added
The following graph shows the seasonal pattern for the hotel occupancy rate using the four-week average.
Hotel Occupancy RateClick on graph for larger image.

The red line is for 2025, blue is the median, and dashed light blue is for 2024.  Dashed purple is for 2018, the record year for hotel occupancy. 
The 4-week average of the occupancy rate is tracking behind last year and the median rate for the period 2000 through 2024 (Blue).
Note: Y-axis doesn't start at zero to better show the seasonal change.
The 4-week average will likely increase over the next week or two.
On a year-to-date basis, the only worse years for occupancy over the last 25 years were pandemic or recession years.

Freddie Mac House Price Index Declined in June; Punta Gorda, Florida has passed Austin as the worst performing city

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Freddie Mac House Price Index Declined in June; Up 2.0% Year-over-year

A brief excerpt:
Freddie Mac reported that its “National” Home Price Index (FMHPI) decreased -0.20% month-over-month (MoM) on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis in June. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, the National FMHPI was up 2.0% in June, down from up 2.3% YoY in May. The YoY increase peaked at 19.0% in July 2021, and for this cycle, bottomed at up 0.9% YoY in April 2023. ...

Freddie HPI CBSAAs of June, 32 states and D.C. were below their previous peaks, Seasonally Adjusted. The largest seasonally adjusted declines from the recent peaks are in D.C. (-5.4), West Virginia (-3.7%), Colorado (-2.9%), and Florida (-2.7%).

For cities (Core-based Statistical Areas, CBSA), 250 of the 384 CBSAs are below their previous peaks.

Here are the 30 cities with the largest declines from the peak, seasonally adjusted. Punta Gorda has passed Austin as the worst performing city. Note that 5 of the 6 cities with the largest price declines are in Florida. And 12 of the 30 cities are in Florida.
There is much more in the article!

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