Nonresidential Construction Employment Dips in April

The construction industry added 2,000 jobs in April, but nonresidential construction employment decreased by 2,000 positions, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has expanded by 235,000 jobs, an increase of 3.2%.
All of the job losses in the nonresidential sector came from the nonresidential specialty trade segment, which lost 6,400 jobs. Nonresidential building and heavy and civil engineering added 3,900 and 500 jobs, respectively.
The construction unemployment rate dropped to 4.6% in April. Unemployment across all industries remained unchanged at 3.6% last month.
“For now, the labor market remains strong as contractors and other employers compete for scarce skill sets. In March, there were approximately 11.5 million available, unfilled jobs in America, roughly 400,000 of them in construction. As more people return to the labor force, some chasing higher wages, America continues to add jobs at a rapid pace,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu.