Construction Employers Add 228,000 Jobs in Past Year

“Construction employment indicators are still signaling strong demand on an annual basis, even though unusually bad weather in several regions probably depressed hiring in March,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Employment is rising twice as fast as for the overall economy, pay rates and growth are outpacing the private sector as a whole, and the industry’s unemployment rate was the lowest ever for March.”

Hourly earnings in the industry averaged $29.43 in March, a rise of 2.9 percent from a year earlier and 9.7 percent higher than the average for all nonfarm private-sector jobs, said Simonson.

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Construction officials continue to press officials at all levels of government to provide funding for career and technical education and training.

“Construction offers great careers, with above-average pay both for entry-level workers and for the industry as a whole compared to the private-sector average,” said AGC’s CEO Stephen E. Sandherr. “To make sure students and workers displaced from other jobs have the chance to gain the skills needed to succeed in growing sectors like construction, government officials must do their part. That means funding up-to-date career and technical education and training, and allowing the industry to collaborate in providing opportunities.”