Construction employment increased by 33,000 jobs in April following an increase of 16,000 jobs in March, according to www.agc.org.
The construction industry unemployment rate fell to 4.7%. The national unemployment rate for all industries fell to 3.6%.
The construction sector added 256,000 net new jobs during the past 12 months—a 3.5% increase. Average hourly earnings in construction increased 3.1% during the past year to $30.60, which is 10.2% higher than the private-sector average of $27.77.
"With overall unemployment now at the lowest level in nearly 50 years, contractors are having an ever harder time finding workers with or without construction experience," says Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America. "Average pay in construction is more than 10% higher than in the private sector as a whole but job openings in the industry keep climbing."
