According to data released today by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics:
- The construction industry added 8,000 jobs on net in October. Year-over-year, industry employment has risen by 223,000 jobs, or an increase of 2.8%.
- Nonresidential construction employment increased by 13,500 positions on net, with growth in 2 of the 3 subcategories.
- "October’s employment report was severely distorted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. As a result, employers across all industries were estimated to have added just 12,000 jobs, the fewest in any month since the economy lost jobs in December 2020. Importantly, the separate survey that produces the unemployment rate was not affected by the storms and indicates that the jobless rate remained stable at 4.1% in October."
Press Release from Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc (ABC)
ABC: Construction Employment Grows in October Despite Hurricane-Skewed Data
WASHINGTON, Nov. 1—The construction industry added 8,000 jobs on net in October, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has grown by 223,000 jobs, an increase of 2.8%.
Nonresidential construction employment increased by 13,500 positions on net, with growth in 2 of the 3 subcategories. Nonresidential specialty trade added the most jobs, increasing by 14,300 positions. Nonresidential building added just 300 jobs, while heavy and civil engineering lost 1,100 jobs last month.
The construction unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in October. Unemployment across all industries remained unchanged at 4.1% in October.
“October’s employment report was severely distorted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “As a result, employers across all industries were estimated to have added just 12,000 jobs, the fewest in any month since the economy lost jobs in December 2020. Importantly, the separate survey that produces the unemployment rate was not affected by the storms and indicates that the jobless rate remained stable at 4.1% in October.
“Despite the underwhelming and heavily distorted economywide data, this jobs report indicates that the construction industry added jobs for the fifth straight month,” said Basu. “Over the past year, the construction sector has added jobs at exactly twice the rate of the broader economy, and growth has been even faster in the nonresidential segment. With contractors on net expecting their staffing levels to increase over the next two quarters, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, it appears likely that industry payrolls will continue to expand through at least the early months of 2025.”
Press Release from Associated General Contractors of America (AGC)
Average Construction Worker Pay Hits $36.23 an Hour, Outpacing Private Sector Total by 18.9 Percent; Outlays Rise for Infrastructure and Data Centers, But Decline for Most Private Nonresidential Categories
Construction sector employment rose by 8,000 jobs in October following a small increase in spending in September as the industry hiked hourly wages at a faster rate than other industries, according to an analysis of new government data the Associated General Contractors of America released today. Association officials said employment gains for the month were likely impacted by hurricanes hitting fast growing regions and the ongoing impacts of construction labor shortages.
“The job gains in construction occurred even though hurricanes in the Southeast probably dragged down hiring in previously fast-growing states,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Contractors are hiring and raising hourly pay at above-average rates in an effort to keep projects on track.”
Construction employment in October totaled 8,310,000, seasonally adjusted, an increase of 8,000 from September. The sector has added 223,000 jobs or 2.8 percent during the past 12 months, double the 1.4 percent increase for total nonfarm employment. Over the past 12 months, nonresidential contractors added 178,400 employees (3.7 percent), while residential construction firms added 44,500 workers (1.3 percent).
A separate government report today showed construction spending totaled $2.15 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in September. That was an increase of 0.1 percent from the August rate and 4.6 percent from September 2023.
Spending rose for data centers and most infrastructure segments, Simonson noted. Data center construction increased 0.6 percent for the month and 48 percent over 12 months. Highway and street construction climbed 0.4 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, and investment in transportation projects such as airports and rail rose 0.8 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively. But spending on multifamily housing and most private nonresidential segments other than data centers declined in September, Simonson added.
Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees in construction—covering most onsite craft workers as well as many office workers—climbed by 4.5 percent over the year to $36.23 per hour. The increase topped the gain in overall private sector pay for production workers, which rose 4.1 percent over 12 months to $30.48 per hour. That difference in hourly pay meant that construction workers earned a wage “premium” of 18.9 percent compared to the overall private sector.
Association officials said construction employment should continue to grow, especially as parts of the country rebuild from hurricane damages. But they said the industry would continue to struggle to find enough workers until federal officials boost funding for construction education and training programs. And they continued to urge Congress and the administration to expand the number of visas available to skilled people willing to work in needed construction jobs.
“Hurricane season will end, but labor shortages aren’t going to go away just because we turned a page on the calendar,” said Jeffrey D. Shoaf, the association’s chief executive officer.
