The US Department of Labor reported Friday that the labor market added 114,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in September, as the unemployment rate fell 0.3 percent to 7.8 percent, the lowest level since January 2009. Additionally, 86,000 more jobs were added in July and August than previous reports showed. The drop in September brings the jobless rate down 1.2 percent over the past year.
Among those groups reporting job growth in September was the construction sector. The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) said that construction employers added 5,000 jobs in September, but in unemployment rate was still up 0.6 percent from August when 1,000 jobs were added. The AGC cautioned, however, that construction employment has been relatively flat for more than a year as growing demand for residential and some commercial projects has been offset by declining public sector construction activity.
Meanwhile, Statistics Canada said that employment increased for the second consecutive month in September with 52,000 jobs added, but the unemployment rate still rose 0.1 percentage points to 7.4 percent as more people entered the labor market. In September, the number of construction workers rose by 29,000, following losses the month before. This leaves employment in the industry at a similar level to that of September 2011.