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US home construction drops 30.2% in April as virus rages

Matt Slocum/AP

A construction crew loads dirt on a building site, Monday, May 18, 2020 in East Greenwich, N.J. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

By: The Associated Press

Posted at 7:57 AM, May 19, 2020

and last updated 2020-05-19 10:57:43-04

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home building plunged again in April, taken down by economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that ground breakings plummeted 30.2% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 891,000.

Construction of single-family homes dropped 25.4% to an annual rate of 650,000.

The lockdowns and travel restrictions designed to contain the pandemic have brought economic life to a near standstill.

The unemployment rate is 14.7%, highest since the Great Depression.

The construction slump is likely to continue.

Building permits for new housing dropped 20.8% to an annual rate of 1.07 million.