Construction employment stagnates, yet industry unemployment rate drops

Construction employment in August remained level, as it has for the last several months, but a report by the Associated General Contractors of America shows that the construction unemployment rate also fell last month.

National construction employment in August was at about 5.8 million, mirroring the total jobs number from July and not changing much from March, the AGC report shows. The August employment number is up 3 percent from August 2012.

Despite the less-than-impressive job growth since March, the August construction unemployment rate of 9.1 percent is down from 11.3 percent in August 2012, and is the lowest August rate since 2008, the AGC report says.

“After a strong rebound in 2012, construction hiring and spending have been stuck in neutral through most of 2013,” Ken Simonson, the AGC’s chief economist, said in the report. “Yet the unemployment rate for former construction workers hit the lowest August level in five years, suggesting that experienced workers are leaving the industry rather than returning to it. As a result, firms are already having trouble finding workers.”

Almost three-quarters of construction firms that responded to an AGC survey said they were having trouble filling some craft-worker positions, and more than half of the firms said they couldn’t easily fill professional positions.

“Construction employment has leveled off for now, but retirements and selected areas of demand mean there is still a need to address worker shortages before they become acute,” Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer, said in the report. “We need to make sure there is an adequate supply of skilled construction labor to meet future demand.”