News US Economy News Home Prices March Higher; Job Openings Hit Record Again What Tuesday’s Economic Reports Tell Us By The Balance Editors The Balance Editors We’re a team of writers and editors with decades of experience researching and answering questions about personal finances. We believe everyone should feel confident when making money decisions, and that passion drives us to make The Balance the best place to learn about finances. learn about our editorial policies Updated on May 5, 2022 Fact checked by Helen Reis Fact checked by Helen Reis Helen is the senior news editor for The Balance and a veteran journalist with more than 17 years of experience, mostly in business and finance news. She is passionate about making complicated topics easy for everyone to understand and compulsive about accuracy and transparency. learn about our editorial policies Photo: Roberto Westbrook / Getty Images Home prices rose at a record-setting pace for the fifth straight month, and the number of job openings reached a new high in March, reports showed Tuesday. Here’s a quick look at the most significant economic indicators of the day and what they tell us. CoreLogic Home Price Index The average cost to buy a single-family home in the U.S. rose 3.3% in March, the most for any March in the 46 years of data used by CoreLogic’s home price index. (The historical average for March is a 0.6% increase.) Since March 2021, prices have jumped 20.9%, a record for any 12-month period. The 20.9% reflects the fifth straight month that prices rose at a record-setting pace, underscoring the near-record low numbers of homes for sale. But a slowdown is inevitable, according to CoreLogic economists who predict only 6% growth over the next year. A recent spike in mortgage rates is making buying a home vastly less affordable and driving many would-be buyers out of the market. Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary The “Great Resignation” regained momentum in March: A record 4.5 million workers quit their jobs and employers posted a record 11.5 million job openings, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which has data going back to 2000. Unprecedented numbers of people have been quitting their jobs, making for record-high volumes of job openings and underscoring just how confident workers are that they’ll find better pay and conditions at other companies, economists said. Both measures topped previous records set in December, adding to several all-time highs reached over the last year or so. With workers enjoying the upper hand in hiring, employers have been forced to raise wages, although in most cases the pay hikes have not kept up with rampant inflation. One downside of employers having such difficulty hiring is that manufacturers have had a hard time keeping up with orders, contributing to supply chain woes that have worsened consumer price increases. Have a question, comment, or story to share? You can reach Diccon at dhyatt@thebalance.com. Want to read more content like this? Sign up for The Balance’s newsletter for daily insights, analysis, and financial tips, all delivered straight to your inbox every morning! Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. CoreLogic. ”US Home Prices Surged in March - CoreLogic®.” BLS. “Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary - 2022 M03 Results.”