ABC sees positive employment signs

The Washington-based trade group Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) says construction sector employment “is holding its own,” although it is not back to pre-pandemic levels.

In an analysis of United States Bureau of Labor Statistics data for March, ABC says the figures show on a year-over-year basis, not seasonally adjusted (NSA) construction unemployment rates rose nationally and in 33 states.

The unemployment rate was unchanged in two states (Oklahoma and Washington) while it fell in 15 states. Among the states with ongoing unemployment problems are those where tourism plays a large role, including Alaska, with a 21.2 percent rate (48th out of 50) and Hawaii (last, at 28 percent).

National NSA construction employment was down 80,000 from March 2020. Seasonally adjusted construction employment remains 182,000, or 2.4 percent below its February 2020 peak, before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic began to influence employment numbers, says ABC.

This compares favorably to national seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment, which was 5.5  below its February 2020 peak in March of this year.

“The combination of better weather and vaccine availability is already improving the health of both the economy and the construction industry,” says Bernard M. Markstein, president and chief economist of Silver Spring, Maryland-based Markstein Advisors, which conducted the analysis for ABC.

“Federal spending from the roughly $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act is providing short-term support to the economy, helping to maintain an upward trajectory,” he continues. “Longer term, there remains a need for repairs and upgrades to the nation’s aging infrastructure. If Democrats and Republicans in Congress can come to agreement on a plan that will benefit both the nation’s long-term economic growth prospects and the construction industry, that would further improve the employment outlook.”

While Hawaii and Alaska—along with Rhode Island, Maine and New York—have construction unemployment rates of around 15 percent or higher, several other states are in tight labor market situations.

According to ABC, the states with the lowest construction sector unemployment rates in March were: Georgia (3.6 percent); North Carolina (3.5 percent); Kansas (2.5 percent); Utah (2.5 percent); and Nebraska (2.0 percent).