Construction of New Homes Jumps 7.1% in ’93 to Highest Level in 4 Years : Economy: Mixed figures also show personal income advancing 0.7%, while first-time jobless applicants jumped sharply.

Construction of new homes jumped by 7.1% in 1993 to 1.29 million units, the highest level of housing starts in four years, the Commerce Department said Thursday. It was the second straight advance and lifted construction to the highest level since 1.38 million new single-family homes and apartments were built in 1989.

“Low mortgage rates, better employment gains and improved consumer confidence have served to boost single-family housing starts in the second half of 1993,” said economist John E. Silvia of Kemper Financial Services in Chicago. “These same factors should sustain housing starts in the first half of 1994.”

Activity improved in every region but the Northeast, where it slipped slightly.

In the Western region, which has been struggling to emerge from recession, December housing starts shot up 14.7% to an annualized rate of 374,000 units, compared to 326,000 units in November, despite California’s lingering recession. For the full year, housing starts were up 4.8%.

In other economic reports Thursday:

* The Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment insurance jumped by 23,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 380,000. This was the highest level since July 24, 1993, when 395,000 people filed initial applications.

* The Commerce Department said personal income grew 0.7% nationally in the third quarter, advancing in all but 11 states. In California, personal income was up 1%.

Housing starts for December ended the year on a strong note, shooting up 6.2% to a seasonally adjusted 1.54 million annual rate. This was the highest since a 1.55 million rate in January, 1990, and the fifth straight increase.

But the Merrill Lynch economists suggested severe winter weather in much of the Midwest and Northeast this month and the Los Angeles earthquake probably would curb construction early in the year.

Once rebuilding begins in Los Angeles and the frigid winter weather lifts, housing starts should pick up again, they said.

Applications for building permits also appeared to confirm the optimism. Often a gauge of future activity, applications jumped 7.4% in December, to a 1.48 million annual rate.

In 1993, home building was led by single-family construction, which surged 9.1% to 1.12 million. This was the highest since 1.15 million homes were built in 1987.

Apartment construction slipped 4.7% to 161,700, the smallest in more than a decade.

Housing Starts

New home construction, in millions of units:

1993: 1.29 million