Construction Employment Grows in April
With residential and nonresidential sectors adding jobs, construction employment expanded by 45,000 employees in April, now totalling about 280,000 new jobs over the past year, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America.
Association officials noted that even as the industry continues to expand, growth has been erratic and inconsistent. “Construction employment resumed strong growth in April after slipping in March and is now growing at more than double the growth rate for total nonfarm employment,” said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. “Nevertheless, job growth remains spotty with the nonresidential building sector losing jobs even as other construction sectors expanded.”
Residential building and specialty trade contractors added 23,600 jobs (1 percent) since March and 153,300 jobs (6.7 percent) over 12 months. Within the residential sector residential building contractors added only 2800 jobs for the month while residential specialty trade contractors added 20,800 jobs compared to March.
“With construction employment likely to continue to expand for the foreseeable future, labor conditions are likely to get even tighter.” Association officials urged Congress and the Obama administration to act on the series of measures the group outlined in its Workforce Development Plan. Those measures are designed to make it easier for construction firms, local not-for-profits and school systems to establish construction training and education programs.
“The last time the sector’s unemployment level was this low construction firms were scrambling to find enough workers,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “While the labor situation isn’t as dire as it was back in 2006, Washington must act soon before more firms struggle to find enough workers to meet demand.”
Read the AGC's complete news release here.
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