Construction sector adds 1,200 jobs in October

The construction industry’s employment increased by only 1,200 jobs in October while it continued to boost wages for hourly workers as firms compete to hire from a small labor pool, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) of new government data.

AGC officials say the small increase in construction employment is an indication of how hard it has become for construction firms to find qualified workers.

“The construction sector would likely have added more jobs in October if only firms could find people to bring on board,” AGC CEO Stephen E. Sandherr says. “Labor market conditions are so tight, however, that the sector barely increased in size even as demand remains strong for many types of construction projects.”

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Total construction employment increased to 7.721 million in October, an increase of 266,000 or 3.6 percent from a year earlier, the AGC says. 

Nonresidential building firms added 2,400 employees for the month, while residential building firms added 3,200. Those gains, however, were offset by 4,000 job losses among specialty trade contractors and 400 job losses among heavy and civil construction firms, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Pay levels in the construction industry continued to increase in October. The average hourly earnings in construction increased from $33.41 in October 2021 to $35.27 last month, an increase of 5.6 percent, higher than the 4.7 percent increase in total private sector earnings for the year. Average weekly earnings in the sector also increased from about $1,296 in October 2021 to $1,372 last month.

The unemployment rate among jobseekers with construction experience increased slightly from 4.0 percent in October 2021 to 4.1 percent last month. The number of unemployed construction workers rose from 398,000 in October 2021 to 419,000 in October 2022, a slight increase, but still a small pool of available workers given the overall size of the industry, Sandherr says.

AGC officials have urged the Biden administration and Congress to take steps to address construction workforce shortages. This includes allowing more people to lawfully enter the country who have construction experience to provide short-term relief. At the same time, the AGC has urged leaders to address a funding gap that puts $5 federal dollars into college-focused education programs for every dollar invested in career and technical education.

“Washington officials are making historic investments in infrastructure, manufacturing and the energy sector,” said Sandherr. “But as much as they want to see new things getting built, they have not been willing to invest in ways to encourage more people to do all that construction.”