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By Alan Zibel Home construction and applications for building permits sank in May, overshadowing favorable reports on manufacturing and wholesale inflation. Fewer homes mean fewer jobs. Double digit unemployment is among the main reasons people have passed on buying new homes. Even with near-record-low mortgage rates, the industry is struggling. "The economy is growing and the housing market is still in recession," said Eugenio Akeman, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities. "It's not going to contribute to growth, but it is not going to pull the economy back down." Overall, new home and apartment construction fell ten percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 593,000, and the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Applications for new building permits - a sign of future activity - sank 5.9 percent to an annual rate of 574,000. That was the lowest level in a year. Builders are scaling back now that tax credits of up to $8,000 have expired. The biggest evidence of that trend: the number of new single-family homes tumbled 17 percent, the largest monthly drop since January of 1991. Source: The Daily Herald Issue: 6/17/10
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