Employment numbers are on the rise across most of the country, but job growth is strongest in the West and South. Utah posted the highest growth, at 3.3 percent. Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia saw annualized growth between 0.2 percent and 1.4 percent year over year in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Idaho and Nevada have the nation’s fastest-growing populations, which increased at rates of 2.2 percent and 2 percent, respectively, between July 1, 2016, and July 1, 2017. The next highest: Texas, Florida, California, Washington, and North Carolina.
“Relatively stronger growth in employment and population across the West and the South may be contributing to the faster single-family construction growth over the past year, and faster home sales in these regions of the country,” according to the National Association of Home Builders’ Eye on Housing blog.
Source: “Growth Strongest Across States in the West and the South,” National Association of Home Builders’ Eye on Housing blog (April 27, 2018)