The MReport Webcast: Monday 6/6/2016

The nation’s unemployment rate took a tumble from April to May—but did the jobs report really bring good news for the economy and for housing? Not exactly. One economist called the May 2016 Employment Situation released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday a dud and another pointed out that it is the weakest jobs report in nearly six years.

The good news from the jobs report is the unemployment rate fell from 5 point 0 percent to 4 point 7 percent. The bad news, however, is the labor force participation rate fell by 20 basis points down to 62 point 6 percent and has fallen by 40 basis points over April and May to offset first-quarter gains, after hitting its lowest level since the 1970s in 2015.

Mortgage lending among credit unions experienced significant gains for the first quarter of the year. The National Credit Union Administration reported Friday that loans outstanding among credit unions rose 10 point 7 percent in the year ending in the first quarter of 2016. First-mortgage loans outstanding increased 10 point 4 percent to 327 point 9 billion dollars, while other real estate loans grew by 3 point 9 percent to 74 point 3 billion dollars.