Also, agriculture shows some signs of improvement, with mining holding steady. Meanwhile the continued tight labor markets are generating wage pressure for several businesses. Overall prices remain level but the cost of some items is accelerating. Construction and Real Estate District construction remains robust, with warm fall weather extending seasonal building activity. Construction employment grew 8.2 percent compared to a year earlier in Montana.
Home building continues quite strong.
District housing units authorized grew by 4 percent for the three-month period ending in October compared to a year earlier. However, there may be signs of slowing in Minneapolis-St. Home-sale agreements recently softened from their vigorous pace of the past two years, according to a realtor association president. While the median price of closed sales in Minneapolis-St. Paul fell for a third consecutive month in October, it was almost 10 percent above year-earlier levels.