Although the number was still in positive territory, the expectation from analyst was for a more solid improvement. The lower figures speak to a lack of recovery in consumer spending and that is being felt by the construction industry and employment in general.
Housing starts rose by 0.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000 homes, compared with a revised figure of 587,000 in August.
But the rate was still down by 28.2% on the 822,000 homes started in September 2008, the Commerce Department said.
Analysts had expected a rate of more than 600,000 housing starts.
Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.