Construction employment added 23,000 jobs on net in October, according to Associated Builders and Contractors. On a year-over-year basis, the industry has expanded by 219,000 jobs—an increase of 2.8%.
The construction unemployment rate rose from 3.8% in September to 4% in October. The national unemployment rate for all industries increased from 3.8% in September to 3.9% in October as the U.S. economy added 150,000 jobs.
Nonresidential construction added 8,400 jobs in October, with growth in all three subsectors. Nonresidential specialty trade contractors added 4,200 jobs for the month; nonresidential building added 2,600 jobs; and heavy and civil engineering added 1,600 jobs.
“The construction industry added jobs for the seventh consecutive month in October,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Over the past year, hiring has been concentrated in the nonresidential segment, with especially strong employment growth in the nonresidential building category. This is in large part due to the unprecedented surge in manufacturing megaprojects.
“While contractors’ demand for labor remains robust, the rising cost of labor, pushed upward by worker shortages, remains a pressing issue for the industry,” Basu continued. “Average hourly earnings for construction workers increased at over twice the rate of economywide wages in October and have risen significantly faster over the past 12 months. With over half of contractors intending to increase their staffing levels over the next six months and fewer than 7% intending to downsize, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, labor shortages should continue to push wages higher over the next few quarters.”
