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Weekly Market Insight
Average Weekly Hours of All Manufacturing Employees
Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate 		February 06, 2012

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Grubb & Ellis 		One of the many bright spots in last Friday’s employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was the manufacturing sector, which added 50,000 net new payroll jobs in January. This was the largest one-month gain since the 52,000 jobs created in January 2011 and the second largest gain since August 1999. The average workweek for manufacturing employees rose to 40.9 hours, the highest level since the BLS began tracking this metric in 2006 (see chart). In addition, the average length of overtime for manufacturing employees increased to 3.4 hours, the highest level since January 2008. The strength of the manufacturing sector can be traced to growing exports, continued spending by businesses on capital goods, and sustained, moderate consumer spending. The strong manufacturing sector will boost demand for all types of industrial space in 2012, supporting Grubb & Ellis’ outlook for a five percent gain in the asking rental rate for warehouse/distribution space.

Robert Bach, Senior Vice President, Chief Economist, has 30 years of professional experience in real estate market research, consulting and city planning. His commentary on the real estate markets is provided here on a weekly basis.

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