Unemployment Rates Fall Only Slightly, as Labor Force Participation Rates Dip to 30 Year Low

The Labor Department reported this week that the unemployment rates dropped only slightly from 8.3& to 8.1%, adding only 96,000 jobs, a downshift from the 153,000 jobs per month in 2011 and 140,000 per month on average earlier this year.

The editorial section of the Wall Street Journal on September 8, 2012 also made note that the drop occurred primarily because 368,000 Americans dropped out of the labor market. Another important indicator that the Journal pointed out that the overall labor force participation rate in the economy fell to 63.5%, which is lowest amount it has been since September 1981.

Mortgage Rates

According to the Freddie Mac survey, average mortgage rates decreased for the week ending Thursday, September 6, 2012.  The average 30 year mortgage decreased from 3.59% to 3.55%, and the average 15 year mortgage stayed flat at 2.86%

Mortgage rates one year ago were 4.12% and 3.33 for the 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages.

Snapshot of the Malden Real Estate Market

 Source: MLS Property Information Network

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