• Employment has been steadily growing over the last year and a half, an important trend for the housing market as employment growth builds confidence as well as the financial means for would-be buyers to make a home purchase.
• Only 15 of the 164 markets tracked by NAR Research with labor market data available showed an increase in their unemployment rate from June of 2011 to June of 2012. However, of the top ten markets with the largest increase in their unemployment rate, eight saw an increase in employment as well.
• This ostensive contradiction came about because the increase in hiring attracted more job seekers to the market. Thus, the pool of job seekers expanded faster than the pool of employed workers; this trend was common in New York State where five markets experience such a pattern.
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