RE:those labor department numbers just don't add up I'm a numbers guy but it's hard to believe anything these days. I try to look for inconsistencies in the data which I believe is done by design to mislead everyone.
You can be bullish on the economy and you can find stats that support your bullish view. Apparently, much to my surprise, the US considers a home under construction as long as the house has not sold. In other words, even if it's been sitting as inventory then they'll classify that home as "currently under construction" and then listed as "completion" when it's been delivered to the new owner. That's painting a very misleading picture on the housing market.
In Canada, a condo developer can issue a permit years after the property has been sold. In other words, if condo permits are rising, then it doesn't tell us anything of relevant value. This artificially inflates the number of homes issued under permit. Permits issued for detached properties is significantly less today than it is one year ago. In the condo market, homes they are building today may have been sold in 2018 or about 5 years ago. This is a significant lag and could tell us what's expected to come up the pipe in 3-5 years time.