US jobs boom triggers rebound in housing market

Washington

THE resurgence of job growth in the United States is helping to power a rebound in the housing market, turning what was the hardest-hit industry during the recession into a highlight of the recovery.

Home sales are at their highest level since 2006, according to industry data, and housing prices across major metro areas have increased 30 per cent since bottoming out three years ago. Government numbers show that new residential construction jumped by 20 per cent this spring, and in some areas the market has been so strong that analysts are worried about another bubble.

Alongside those gains is a pick-up in job growth that started in 2014 and has yet to lose steam. New government data released on Friday showed that the economy added 280,000 jobs in May, the biggest number this year. US employers have not been on such a long hiring spree since the dot-com boom …