The housing recovery could be about to pay off in some new jobs.
Goldman Sachs economists, in a new report this week, forecast that residential investment-related employment growth should pick up this year and next, and could start to add jobs at a pace of 25,000 to 30,000 per month, compared to the average 14,000 per month of the last year.
"Even at this faster rate, it will take many years before housing-related employment attains its prior highs," they noted.
Layoffs in construction and other housing-related jobs were deeper than in other industries, and jobs have been slower to come back despite the improvement in housing activity, according to the report. "Although many indicators of housing activity improved during 2012, employment in the sector remains close to post-bubble lows," they added.
(Read More: Economy Adds Another 157,000 Jobs in January)