Labor MarketThe number of people applying for unemployment insurance for the first time ticked up this past week compared to the one before that. However, the overall trend is a good sign toward economic recovery and growth.Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims (Bureau of Labor Statisics)Jobless Claims last week: 239KForecast: 243KWeek Before: 234K(courtesy of tradingeconomics.com)It should be noted that the 234K reading we seen twice recently are the lowest jobless claims number since the 1970s. Therefore, this week's slight uptick is not alarming at all.Housing MarketMonthly New Residential Construction, January 2017 (United States Census Bureau)Here is an excerpt from the latest report.Building PermitsPrivately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,285,000. This is 4.6 percent (±2.0 percent) above the revised December rate of 1,228,000 and is 8.2 percent (±1.6 percent) above the January 2016 rate of 1,188,000. Single-family authorizations in January were at a rate of 808,000; this is 2.7 percent (±1.9 percent) below the revised December figure of 830,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 446,000 in JanuaryHousing StartsPrivately-owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,246,000. This is 2.6 percent (±11.0 percent)* below the revised December estimate of 1,279,000, but is 10.5 percent (±15.3 percent)* above the January 2016 rate of 1,128,000. Single-family housing starts in January were at a rate of 823,000; this is 1.9 percent (±10.8 percent)* above the revised December figure of 808,000. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 421,000.Building Permits (Jan.) 1.29MForecast: 1.23MPrevious 1.23M(Revised up from 1.21M)Housing Starts (Jan.): 1.25MForecast: 1.23M:Previous: 1.28M (revised from 1.23M)(courtesy of tradingeconomics.com)