Employment in construction grew by 20,000 employees in November, with total employment of 7,750,000, according to the Associated General Contractors of America. Compared to the same period a year ago, construction employment grew 3.3 percent, or 248,000 jobs.
Nonresidential firms—comprising nonresidential building and specialty trade contractors along with heavy and civil engineering construction firms—added 16,300 employees in November. Residential building and specialty trade contractors together added 3,900 employees.
Wages for hourly workers also increased in November, at a faster pace than in the overall private sector, according to AGC. Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory workers in construction—mostly hourly craft workers—climbed by 6.1 percent, from $31.04 in November 2021 to $32.94 last month. That increase exceeded the 5.8 percent rise in average pay for all private sector production workers. Such workers in construction now earn an average of 17.2 percent more per hour than in the private sector as a whole, according to AGC.
The unemployment rate among jobseekers with construction experience decreased from 4.7 percent in November 2021 to 3.9 percent last month. The number of unemployed construction workers fell by 16 percent, from 469,000 in November 2021 to 393,000 in November of 2022, according to AGC.
Source: AGC
