Construction employment added 2,000 jobs on net in November, according to Associated Builders and Contractors. On a year-over-year basis, the industry has expanded by 200,000 jobs—an increase of 2.6%.
The construction unemployment rate rose from 4% in October to 4.8% in November. The national unemployment rate for all industries decreased from 3.9% in October to 3.7% in November as the U.S. economy added 199,000 jobs.
Nonresidential construction added 1,400 jobs in November, with growth in one of three subsectors; heavy and civil engineering added 3,300 jobs. Nonresidential specialty trade contractors lost 800 jobs, and nonresidential building lost 1,100 jobs.
“U.S. employers once again added jobs at a faster pace than expected in November,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “While construction added only 2,000 jobs for the month, the industry has added jobs at a significantly faster pace than the broader economy over the past year. That’s especially true for the nonresidential sector, in which employment has increased by an impressive 3.2% over the past year. That momentum is largely attributable to megaprojects in the manufacturing sector.
“Faster hiring in the industry has coincided with worsening labor shortages, and that has led to rapid increases in labor costs,” Basu continued. “Average hourly earnings for construction employees increased at a faster pace than economywide earnings on both a monthly and yearly basis in November. With nearly half of contractors planning to increase their staffing levels over the six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, wage pressures will remain firmly in place through the early parts of 2024.”
