The construction industry added 36,000 jobs on net in May, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has expanded by 283,000 jobs, an increase of 3.8%. Nonresidential construction employment increased by 19,400 positions on net, with all three subsectors showing growth. Heavy and civil engineering added 11,300 net new jobs, while nonresidential specialty trade contractors added 5,700. Nonresidential building also added 2,400 new positions. The construction unemployment rate decreased to 3.8% in May. Unemployment across all industries remained unchanged at 3.6% in March.

National nonresidential construction spending was down 0.4% in April, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors’ analysis of data published by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $844.4 billion for the month. Despite the monthly setback, nonresidential construction spending is up 6.6% from a year ago. Spending was down on a monthly basis in 12 of the 16 nonresidential subcategories. Private nonresidential spending was down 0.2%, while public nonresidential construction spending was down 0.7% in April. Spending in the residential category retained momentum in April, rising 0.9% for the month and 18.2% since … Read more