Steel Markets
Construction Adds 14,000 Jobs in August
Written by Sandy Williams
September 6, 2019
Employment gains fell short of expectations in August with only 130,000 new nonfarm jobs reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. Construction employment accounted for 14,000 jobs last month and 177,000 in the past 12 months, according to the latest analysis of government data by the Associated General Contractors of America.
Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, noted that the 2.4 percent growth in construction employment between August 2018 and August 2019 was the slowest in more than six years, but that the rate remained well above the 1.4 percent increase in total nonfarm payroll employment. There were 361,000 unemployed jobseekers who last worked in construction—an unemployment rate of 3.6 percent for such workers. Simonson said those were the second-lowest August levels since the series began in 2000.
Average hourly earnings in construction—a measure of all wages and salaries—increased 2.7 percent over the year to $30.84 and were 9.7 percent higher than the private-sector average of $28.11. Average hourly wages for all nonfarm payrolls, including construction, increased by 0.4 percent in August and 3.2 percent for the year.
Two-thirds of firms responding to an AGC survey last month had raised base pay rates for hourly craft workers in the past year because of difficulty in filling positions, while 58 percent of firms had done so for salaried workers. Many respondents also reported providing incentives, bonuses and larger contributions to benefit plans.
“Construction employment gains would likely have been higher if firms could find even more people to hire,” said Simonson. “Our survey found that 91 percent of respondents said their firms expect to hire in the next 12 months, but overwhelmingly, they are finding most craft positions hard to fill. Even as firms are raising pay and benefits, doing more in-house training and investing in labor-saving equipment, labor shortages are changing the way many firms bid, schedule and manage their projects.”
Sandy Williams
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