Construction employment increased by 16,000 jobs in March following a decrease of 31,000 jobs in February, according to www.agc.org.
The construction industry unemployment rate fell to 5.2%. The national unemployment rate for all industries was unchanged at 3.8%.
The construction sector added 246,000 net new jobs during the past 12 months—a 3.4% increase. Average hourly earnings in construction increased 3.3% during the past year to $30.45, which is nearly 10% higher than the private-sector average of $27.70.
"Construction employment rebounded in March, indicating that the dip in February was probably related to extreme weather conditions and not the beginning of a slump," says Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America. "In fact, the construction industry has added jobs at twice the rate of the overall economy in the past year."
