Construction employment added 9,000 jobs on net in April, according to Associated Builders and Contractors. On a year-over-year basis, the industry has expanded by 50,000 jobs—an increase of 0.6%.
The construction unemployment rate fell from 6.7% in March to 3.8% in April. The national unemployment rate for all industries was unchanged at 4.3% as the U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs.
Nonresidential construction added 19,000 jobs in April, with gains in all three subsectors. Nonresidential specialty trade contractors added 12,600 jobs; nonresidential building added 5,600 jobs; and heavy and civil engineering added 800 jobs.
“Construction employment expanded modestly in April, but that’s largely due to weakness on the residential side of the industry,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Nonresidential construction employment rose at a healthy pace for the month and is up a respectable 2.0% over the past year. This strength can be traced to surging data center construction spending, which is up 34% over the past year. It also helps explain why ABC member expectations for hiring remain elevated, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, despite tepid industrywide job growth.”
