After the long downturn, the coming year will be an opportunity for many industries to rejuvenate themselves. Independent researcher IBISWorld sorted through data on 711 U.S.-based industries to come up with these predictions of the 10 best.
Technically, the homebuilder sentiment index inched one point higher to 16 in November. But the gain was offset by a revised one-point dip in October's reading, and the numbers remain well below those seen during a healthy housing market.
The U.S. construction industry went from bad to worse in July, and then retroactively worse still. The Commerce Department announced Wednesday that spending in the sector fell a worse-than-expected 1% in July, and revised June's estimate downward from a 0.1% increase to an 0.8% decline.
July housing starts inched up to 546,000, a lower-than-expected rate that's a gain on June only because the previous month's total was revised downwards. Housing starts are now 7% lower in the past year, despite the home buyer tax-credit program.
The Great Recession had a disproportionately high impact on male unemployment. But now, the tentative recovery is driving job gains in areas like construction and financial services, helping male hiring regain lost ground -- some good news for Father's Day.
