Economy
March 9, 2019
Weak Jobs Report Shows Slowing of Construction, Manufacturing Employment
Written by Sandy Williams
A much weaker than expected jobs report showed that only 20,000 jobs were added in the U.S. last month. The unemployment rate was 3.8 percent, dipping from 4.0 percent in January, according to the latest report from Commerce. Average earnings rose 0.4 percent in February for a year-over-year gain of 3.4 percent.
In the construction sector, employment decreased by 31,000 jobs in February. Residential construction employment fell by 10,900 jobs last month after increasing by 22,500 jobs in January and declining by 900 jobs in December. The Associated General Contractors of America attributed the decline to extreme weather conditions across most of the nation last month. AGC estimates 2.9 million people were employed in residential construction in February.
