Construction employment, seasonally adjusted, totaled 8,303,000 in September, a gain of 25,000 from August and 238,000 (3.0%) year-over-year (y/y), according to AGC’s analysis of data the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) posted today. The y/y growth rate outpaced the 1.6% increase in total nonfarm payroll employment. Residential construction employment rose by 7,800 in September (2,000 at residential building firms and 5,800 at specialty contractors) and 60,500 (1.8%) y/y. Nonresidential construction employment increased by 17,900 for the month (3,800 at heavy and civil engineering construction firms and 17,000 at specialty trade contractors, offsetting a decline of 2,000 at building firms) and 177,800 (3.7%) y/y. Seasonally adjusted average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees rose 3.9% y/y for the total private sector and 4.0% for construction (i.e., most craft and office workers). The industry unemployment rate in September, not seasonally adjusted, was 3.7%, which was lower than the all-industry rate (3.9%, not seasonally adjusted) for the fourth consecutive month. The number of unemployed jobseekers with construction experience totaled 403,000, not seasonally adjusted, an increase of 11,000 (2.8%) y/y.
Construction spending (not adjusted for inflation) totaled $2.13 trillion in August at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, down 0.1% from the downwardly revised July rate but up 4.1% y/y, the Census Bureau reported on Tuesday. Private nonresidential spending dipped 0.1% for the month. The largest subsegment, manufacturing, rose 0.2%; power construction slumped 0.7%; commercial slid 0.4% (comprising warehouse, up 0.5%; retail, down 2.3%; and farm, up 2.0%); and office rose 0.2% (with data centers up 1.0% and other “offices” down 0.2%). Private residential spending declined 0.3% (single-family, down 1.5%; multifamily, down 0.4%; and improvements, up 1.0%). Public construction climbed 0.3%, with highway and street up 1.1%; education flat; transportation down 0.2%; and sewage and waste disposal down 0.5%.
There were 370,000 job openings in construction, seasonally adjusted, at the end of August, a drop of 16,000 (-4.1%) y/y, BLS reported on Tuesday. Hires for the full month totaled 338,000, a drop of 36,000 (-9.6%). Layoffs and discharges totaled 164,000 or 2.0% of employees, the second-lowest August rate in the 24-year history of the data. The fact that end-of-month openings exceeded hires for the full month suggests employers wanted to hire more than twice as many workers as they were able to; the low layoff rate indicates firms want to hang onto workers.
Construction employment, not seasonally adjusted, rose y/y from August 2023 to August 2024 in 245 (68%) of the 358 metro areas (including divisions of larger metros) for which the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) posts construction employment data, fell in 70 (20%), and was unchanged in 43, according to an analysis AGC released on Wednesday. (For most metros, BLS posts only combined totals for mining, logging, and construction; AGC treats these totals as construction-only.) The largest job gains again occurred in Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land (15,900 construction jobs or 7%) and Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise (9,600 construction jobs, 12%), followed by Northern Virginia (8,100 combined jobs, 10%) and Baton Rouge, La. (7,300 construction jobs, 16%). Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii had the largest percentage gain (18%, 800 combined jobs), followed by 17% gains in Anchorage, Alaska (2,200 construction jobs) and Danville, Ill. (100 combined jobs). The largest job loss again occurred in New York City (-8,600 combined jobs, -6%), followed by Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. (-4,000 combined jobs, -4%) and Denver-Aurora-Lakewood (-3,000 combined jobs, -3%). The largest percentage decrease again occurred in Duluth, Minn.-Wis. (-11%, -1,200 combined jobs), followed by 8% losses in Ithaca, N.Y. and Grants Pass, Ore. (-100 combined jobs each).
Widespread damage to homes, businesses, and roads from Hurricane Helene and a three-day strike by East and Gulf Coast longshore workers threaten to delay delivery of some construction materials. Readers are invited to send reports of delays or allocations to ken.simonson@agc.org.
“Economic activity in the services sector [covering 18 sectors] expanded for the third consecutive month in September,” the Institute for Supply Management reported on Thursday. Construction was among 12 sectors reporting paying higher prices for materials and services and was among sectors reporting growth (12 sectors) and increases in business activity (12), new orders (11), inventories (10), and employment (6), along with decreased order backlogs (7) and faster supplier deliveries (6). Items significant for construction reported up in price include heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment and softwood lumber (2 months in a row). Price declines were reported for steel products (5 months). Items listed in short supply include construction labor (2), electrical equipment (4), and transformers (4).
The Data DIGest is a weekly summary of economic news. All rights reserved. Sign up at www.agc.org/datadigest.
