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Construction employment continues upward trend

Construction employment totaled 8,137,000 jobs in January, a gain of 11,000 jobs from December and 216,000 jobs (2.7 percent) year over year.
Image courtesy Associated General Contractors of America (AGC)

Construction employment, seasonally adjusted, totaled 8,137,000 jobs in January, a gain of 11,000 jobs from December and 216,000 jobs (2.7 percent) year over year, according to Associated General Contractors of America’s (AGC) analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The year-over-year growth rate outpaced the 1.8 percent increase in total nonfarm payroll employment. Residential construction employment (at residential building and specialty contractors) rose by 2,700 in January and 60,100 (1.8 percent) year over year. Nonresidential construction employment (at building, specialty trade, and heavy and civil engineering construction firms) increased by 7,600 for the month and 155,100 (3.3 percent) year over year.

Seasonally adjusted average hourly earnings for production and non-supervisory employees in construction (craft and office) rose 5.3 percent year over year to $35.21 per hour. A premium for non-supervisory construction workers rose to 18.7 percent over the private sector average of $29.66, but remains considerably below the average premium in 2000 to 2019 of 21.5 percent. The number of unemployed jobseekers with construction experience totaled 699,000, not seasonally adjusted, a decline of 21,000 (2.9 percent) from January 2023, and the unemployment rate for such workers was unchanged at 6.9 percent.

Construction industry wages and salaries rose 1.2 percent, seasonally adjusted, in Q4 of 2023, up from 1.1 percent in Q3, BLS reported. The Q4 increase topped a 0.9 percent rise for the overall private sector (down from 1.1 percent in Q3). From Q4 2022 to Q4 2023 wages rose 4.5 percent in construction versus 4.3 percent overall.

The “first year of new settlements reached in 2023 for union craft workers in the construction industry had an average increase of 4.7 percent,” up from 3.1 percent in 2022 and 2.8 percent in 2021, the Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC) reported. “The most common percentage (the mode) moved dramatically higher from 2021 [2.6 to 3 percent] to 2022 [3.6 to 4 percent] to 2023 [6.1-plus percent].” Among CLRC’s nine regions, increases ranged from 6.2 percent (Northwest) to 3.8 percent (New England). Increases “were higher than in 2022 for every region except New England, where they averaged the same as in 2022.” Increases averaged more than in 2022 for all 17 crafts and ranged from 5.8 percent (Teamsters) to 3.5 percent (glaziers).

There were 374,000 job openings in construction, not seasonally adjusted, at the end of December, down 4.1 percent year over year, BLS reported. Hires for the full month totaled 227,000, down 3.4 percent year over year. The large excess of openings over hires, as well as the increase in construction spending, suggests that the small year-over-year declines in openings and hires more likely reflect difficulty in filling positions than a weakening of demand.