The number of workers employed in the construction industry grew by 11,000 in September, up 217,000 from September 2022, or 2.8%. Industry advocacy groups cited ongoing labor shortages as constraining job growth, even as wages have increased.
The number of jobs in nonresidential construction declined in September by 1,300, according to The Associated Builders and Contractors. Gains in heavy and civil engineering were offset by declines in nonresidential specialty trade and nonresidential building.
“Despite declining last month, America’s nonresidential construction segment has still added jobs at a faster rate than the broader economy over the past year,” said Anirban Basu, chief economist, in a statement. “While a meaningful share of that hiring relates to infrastructure and large-scale manufacturing projects, several other subsegments, such as data centers and health care, enter the fourth quarter with momentum.
“Hiring would likely be faster if not for ongoing skills and labor shortages,” said Basu. “Despite efforts by the Federal Reserve to soften economic growth, a majority of contractors expect their sales and staffing to expand over the next six months, according to ABC's Construction Confidence Index. That suggests that the construction labor market is poised to tighten further during the months ahead despite ongoing Federal Reserve efforts to curb inflation, including by further slowing the pace of hiring.”
Said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors, in a statement:
“Construction firms have plenty of projects but a dip in nonresidential employment last month shows how hard it has been to find enough skilled workers. Job openings remain stubbornly high, even though the industry has been raising hourly pay at an elevated rate.”
Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees in construction—covering most onsite craft workers as well as many office workers—climbed by 5.5 percent over the year to $34.54 per hour, according to AGC. Construction firms in August provided a wage “premium” of nearly 19 percent compared to the average hourly earnings for all private-sector production employees.
What were September construction employment numbers?
Construction employment in September totaled 8,014,000, seasonally adjusted, with a gain of 11,000 or 0.1% from August. The sector has added 217,000 jobs during the past 12 months, an increase of 2.8%. Residential building and specialty trade contractors added 12,600 employees in September and 55,300 (1.7%) over 12 months. Employment at nonresidential construction firms—nonresidential building and specialty trade contractors along with heavy and civil engineering construction firms—declined by 1,300 positions for the month but increased by 161,600 (3.5%) since September 2022.
The unemployment rate among jobseekers with construction experience was 3.8 percent in September, one of the lowest September rates in the 24-year history of the data. A separate government report released earlier this week reported that there were 360,000 job openings in construction at the end of August, the among the highest August totals in series history and a further sign of contractors’ difficulty in finding qualified workers.
