AGC: Construction Employment at 10-Year High

Construction employment totaled 7,242,000 in July, the highest level since May 2008 and a gain of 4.4 percent over the past 12 months, said a new analysis of government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. The industry added 19,000 jobs in July and 303,000 jobs over the past year, reaching a 10-year high, while the industry’s unemployment rate and level hit an all-time low. Year-over-year growth was almost triple the 1.6 percent rise in total nonfarm payroll employment.

“The construction industry has added workers at nearly three times the rate of the economy as a whole, and the job gains are showing up in both residential and non-residential construction,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But it is getting ever harder for contractors to find workers despite offering above-average pay and good career advancement opportunities.”