The unemployment rate in the US construction sector dropped to the lowest April level in seven years as contractors added 32,000 workers to payrolls in April, bringing industry employment to 6.0 million, the highest level since June 2009, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials warned that it is essential to revive and expand training opportunities before the industry runs short of workers.
Construction employment totaled 6,000,000 in April, a gain of 189,000 or 3.3 percent from a year earlier, while aggregate hours worked rose even more--3.8 percent. Residential building and specialty trade contractors added a combined total of 13,100 workers in April and 107,900 (5.0 percent) over 12 months.
Nonresidential construction--building, specialty trades and heavy and civil engineering contractors--grew by 18,600 employees last month and 81,300 (2.2 percent) since April 2013.
“There is a limit to how much overtime workers can put in, and companies will be seeking to expand employment even faster if the volume of projects continues to grow,” said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. “But the huge drop in the number of unemployed former construction workers may make it harder to keep adding employees.”
The unemployment rate for workers actively looking for jobs and last employed in construction declined from 13.2 percent a year earlier to 9.4 percent last month. Simonson noted that the unemployment rate for construction workers had fallen by more than half since April 2010, when it reached 21.8 percent. During that time, the number of unemployed workers who last worked in construction declined by 1.1 million, but industry employment increased by less than 450,000.