Texas, California and Florida accounted for more than 20 percent of the nation’s 116,855 gas stations with paid employees in 2006, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s about one gas station per 2,500 people.
Gas stations employed more than 910,000 people, with a total annual payroll of $15 billion. At the county level, Los Angeles (1,723); Harris (Houston), Texas (1,397); and Cook (Chicago), Illinois (1,090) had the highest number of gas stations.
The American median existing-home price for all housing types was $208,600 in May, down 6.3 percent from a year ago when the median was $222,700.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said there’s still a lot of inventory in the market. “The large supply of homes on the market clearly favours buyers, and it should take several months to draw the inventory down,” he said. “Stabilisation in home prices can only occur with buyers returning to the market, so we are encouraged by rising home sales, particularly in distressed markets. Foreclosures and short sales appear to be a larger part of the market, particularly in California, and are creating a drag on current home prices.”
American real average weekly rose slightly by 0.3 percent from April 2008 to May 2008 to $604.58 after seasonal adjustment, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor. Over the past 12 months, weekly earnings rose by 3.2 percent. In May, average hourly earnings edged up by 5 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $17.94, seasonally adjusted. This followed gains of 6 cents in March and 2 cents in April.
Engineers, machinists and skilled trade workers are among the nation’s most challenging positions to fill, according to survey findings released by Manpower Inc.
A federal lawsuit has been filed in New Jersey charging the Bush administration with illegally avoiding the current limits for the H1-B visa program. The Immigration Reform Law Institute, the Programmers Guild and others said the administration has improperly extended the time foreign nationals can work in the U.S. on student visas from one year to 29 months.
The American average existing house price for all housing types was $202,300 in April, which is 8.0 percent below a year ago when the median was $219,900. Total housing inventory at the end of April rose 10.5 percent to 4.55 million existing houses available for sale, which represents an 11.2 month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 10.0 month supply in March.
America’s Hispanic population increased to reach 45.5 million or 15.1 percent of the total U.S. population. With a 3.3 percent annual increase, Hispanics were the fastest-growing minority group. Asians were the second fastest-growing minority group, with a 2.9 percent population increase during the period. The white population grew by 0.3 percent during the one-year period.
American real average weekly earnings fell by 0.2 percent from March 2008 to April 2008 to $602.56 after seasonal adjustment, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor. Over the past 12 months, weekly earnings rose by 3.4 percent.
Minneapolis took the top spot in a recent survey of America’s Most Affordable Places For a Good Life. Citizens of Minnesota’s largest city enjoy a high quality of life with access to a wide choice of arts, leisure and entertainment offerings and property in Minneapolis is relatively affordable.
The American median existing-home price for all housing types was $200,700 in March, down 7.7 percent from a year ago when the median was $217,400.