Residential Construction Sector Sees Steady Job Growth

Despite ongoing concerns surrounding federal layoffs, the U.S. job market showed steady growth through February, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ Eye On Housing blog. Though the unemployment rate edged up slightly to 4.1%, wage growth increased by 4% year-over-year, outpacing inflation for nearly two years. The construction industry saw similar growth, adding 19,000 jobs in February. Of that total, 12,700 jobs came from residential construction. This means that residential construction employment reached 3.4 million jobs, with 955,000 builders and 2.4 million specialty trade contractors. Over the last six months, the residential construction sector averaged 2,600 new jobs monthly and added 50,500 jobs over the past year.

In February, the unemployment rate for construction workers rose to 5.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The unemployment rate for construction workers has remained at a relatively lower level, after reaching 15.3% in April 2020 due to the housing demand impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more