Construction employment added 13,000 jobs on net in June, according to www.abc.org. On a year-over-year basis, the industry has expanded by 292,000 jobs—an increase of 4%.
The construction unemployment rate fell from 3.8% in May to 3.7% in June. The national unemployment rate for all industries was unchanged at 3.6% in June as the U.S. economy added 372,000 jobs.
Nonresidential construction added 16,500 jobs in June, with all three sectors showing growth. Nonresidential specialty trade contractors added 11,400 jobs; heavy and civil engineering added 4,500 jobs; and nonresidential building added 600 jobs.
“Today’s employment report was a welcome respite from a sea of bad economic news,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “In June, there was an abundance of available, unfilled jobs as the summer travel season swung into high gear. Meanwhile, inflation has induced many people back into the labor market in order to offset elevated costs for essentials and luxuries alike. That served as a recipe for another month of solid job growth in America, with contractors collectively adding 13,000 jobs last month.
“This does nothing, however, to dim the risk of recession,” Basu continued. “Employment tends to be a lagging indicator. Moreover, the solid employment performance makes it more likely that the Federal Reserve will continue to raise interest rates during the months to come, including this month. Higher borrowing costs working in conjunction with lofty materials prices and rapidly rising worker compensation mean that the threat of significant numbers of project postponements and cancellations remains firmly in place. According to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, these factors have already begun to whittle away at contractor profit margins.”
