Construction employment added 25,000 jobs on net in September, according to Associated Builders and Contractors. On a year-over-year basis, the industry has expanded by 238,000 jobs—an increase of 3%.
The construction unemployment rate rose from 3.2% in August to 3.7% in September. The national unemployment rate for all industries decreased from 4.2% in August to 4.1% in September as the U.S. economy added 254,000 jobs.
Nonresidential construction added 17,900 jobs in September, with growth in two of the three subsectors. Nonresidential specialty trade contractors added 17,000 jobs, and heavy and civil engineering added 3,800 jobs. Nonresidential building lost 2,900 jobs.
“The construction industry added jobs for the fifth consecutive month despite labor shortages,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “The industry unemployment rate rose to 3.7% in September, but that’s still lower than in any month on record before the second half of 2018 and half a percentage point below the economywide unemployment rate. Hiring should persist in the coming months, with contractors expecting to increase their staffing levels over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index.
“Beyond the construction industry, this jobs report blew past expectations,” Basu continued. “U.S. employers added 254,000 jobs for the month, the most since March, and employment estimates for the previous two months were revised upward by a total of 72,000 jobs. While the ongoing strength of the labor market and consumer spending indicates that the economy has weathered high interest rates better than anyone thought possible, the combination of rising household debt levels and economic uncertainty surrounding geopolitics and the looming election will potentially weigh on growth in the coming months.”
