Construction Employment Reaches 10-Year High, Industry Unemployment Sets Record Low

Construction employment increased by 19,000 jobs in July and by 303,000 jobs over the past year, reaching a 10-year high, and the industry’s unemployment rate and level hit an all-time low, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said it was likely firms would have added even more workers if they could find qualified candidates to hire. “The construction industry has added workers at nearly three times the rate of the economy as a whole, and the job gains are showing up in both residential and nonresidential construction,” said Ken […]

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Construction Employment Rises in 45 States, D.C. from July 2017 to July 2018

Forty-five states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between July 2017 and July 2018, while 29 states and D.C. added construction jobs between June and July, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department. Association officials cautioned that continued job gains may depend on swiftly implementing new training and education legislation to equip students and workers to enter the industry. “Construction job gains over the past year were more widespread across the country than at any time since the beginning of 2016,” said chief economist Ken Simonson. “These results show that contractors […]

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Projections Reveal Nonresidential Construction Spending to Grow

Spending on nonresidential buildings nationally increased only modestly last year, barely outpacing inflation in building costs. Halfway through the seventh year of continuous growth for the cyclical construction industry, 2018 might have looked to be the year that the industry would enter another recession. However, when polled at the beginning of this year, the AIA Consensus Construction Forecast Panel—consisting of leading economic forecasters— instead saw acceleration in activity, projecting 4 percent growth in 2018 and a nearly equal 3.9 percent in 2019. “At the halfway point of the year, this panel is even more optimistic,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit […]

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Construction Adds 19,000 Jobs as Unemployment Plummets in July, Says ABC

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. construction industry added 19,000 net new jobs in July after adding 13,000 net new jobs in June, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data supplied by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The industry has added 308,000 net new jobs since the first of the year, a robust increase of 4.4 percent. The construction industry unemployment rate dove to 3.4 percent in July, recording its lowest level in the 18-year history of the series. The national unemployment rate for all industries inched down to 3.9 percent. Nonresidential construction employment increased by 13,200 net jobs […]

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Construction Employment Rises in 43 States, D.C. from June 2017 to June 2018

Forty-three states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between June 2017 and June 2018, while 32 states and D.C. added construction jobs between May and June, according to a recent analysis released by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data. Association officials cautioned that continued job gains may depend on improving the training and education pipeline for workers to enter the industry. “Construction is proving to be a reliable source of employment growth in nearly every state, and contractors are eager to hire even more workers,” said chief economist Ken Simonson. “But finding qualified workers […]

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