Weekly Information 9/3

Mortgage interest rates increased slightly this past week largely driven by today’s better than expected jobs report for August. Today’s report showed that non-farm payrolls fell by 54k on expectations that they would fall by 120k. Private non-farm payrolls increased by 67k on expectations that they would increase by 44k. The unemployment rate increased to 9.6%, in line with expectations. Also, weekly jobless claims fell slightly on expectations that they would increase. Other positive economic news of note included July Personal Spending, the Case Shiller 20 City Home Price Index, the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index, August Consumer Confidence, the August ISM Manufacturing Index, and July Pending Home Sales. Economic data weaker than expected included July Construction Spending and the August ISM Services Sector Index.