ABC: Nonresidential Construction Adds 28,800 Jobs in November

The construction industry added 28,000 jobs on net in November, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors’ analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has expanded by 58,000 jobs, an increase of 0.7%.

Nonresidential construction employment increased by 28,800 positions, with gains in all three subcategories. Nonresidential specialty trade added 18,700 jobs, while nonresidential building and heavy and civil engineering added 5,100 and 5,000 jobs, respectively.

The construction unemployment rate was 4.1% in November. Unemployment across all industries rose to 4.6% and is 0.4 percentage points higher than one year ago.

“Construction industry job growth has picked up over the past three months,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “The industry has added 52,000 jobs since August, a stark reversal from the 9,000 jobs lost during the first eight months of the year.

“This recent rebound has been led by rapid growth in nonresidential specialty trade contractor employment, a trend that is at least partially due to the surging need for electricians caused by the data center construction boom. While overall industry employment growth may remain sluggish due to ongoing residential segment job losses, nonresidential contractors remain optimistic about their staffing levels, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index.”