LoginFaced with rising materials costs difficulty recruiting qualified labor, home remodelers' confidence fell in the first quarter of 2013, according to the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI). The RMI dipped 6 points down from a score of 55 in the last quarter of 2012 to a reading of 49 in the first quarter of 2013. The RMI's future market indicators declined from 56 to 48 in between 2012's fourth quarter and 2013's first quarter. Current markets sentiment was also on the decline, down from 54 in the previous quarter to 50.
Any reading above 50 indicates that more remodelers report higher market activity than lower market activity than they did the previous quarter. The overall RMI averages indicators of future remodeling with ratings of current remodeling activity.
Though the reading is down from the previous quarter, 2013's first quarter was still the third highest reading for the RMI since the first quarter of 2006.
April's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment numbers for the construction industry indicated slowed growth in construction sector employment. Despite the fact that residential construction enterprises added 8,500 jobs and the overall employment was up 2.7 percent over the previous year, overall hiring in construction declined month-to-month between March and April by 6,000 positions.