The government's employment report for April comes out Friday. It's an important measure of the economy's health and the advance signals have been mixed. One report this week showed layoffs falling to a five-year low, but another suggests disappointing jobs creation.
At least one sector is providing some positive news for the job market: housing.
It was only a year or so ago that housing was a big drag on the economy, and the main reason for the disappointing recovery. But that's changed. Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, says right now housing is a big positive.
"There are pluses and minuses out there, and it's definitely a plus right now," he says. "I think within the economy, it's probably the strongest part of the economy in terms of growth right now."
Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, says the housing recovery is now responsible for about one-third of the economy's growth and lots of jobs.
"Over the past year, I would say it's probably added about 300,000 jobs from the housing sector improvement," Yun says.
'An Amazing Year'
Some of those jobs were added at Synergy Design and Construction in Reston, Va.
Mina Fies, the company's chief executive officer, says 2012 "was just an amazing year for us: We grew about 40 percent in revenues. We added three people, more toward the end of 2012. And already we're tracking for 2013 to grow another 30 percent, and we're looking to hire at least another three employees."
But it's not just in design and construction that the housing recovery is creating jobs. After all, those construction workers need something to get themselves and their tools to work.
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