Construction employment increased by 14,000 jobs in August following an increase of 4,000 jobs in July, according to www.agc.org.
The construction unemployment rate was 3.6% in August. The national unemployment rate for all industries remained at 3.7%.
The construction sector added 177,000 net new jobs during the past 12 months—a 2.4% increase. Average hourly earnings in construction increased 2.7% during the past year to $30.84, which is 9.7% higher than the private-sector average of $28.11.
“Construction employment gains would likely have been higher if firms could find even more people to hire,” says Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America. “Our survey found that 91 percent of respondents said their firms expect to hire in the next 12 months, but overwhelmingly, they are finding most craft positions hard to fill. Even as firms are raising pay and benefits, doing more in-house training and investing in labor-saving equipment, labor shortages are changing the way many firms bid, schedule and manage their projects.”
