Construction Unemployment Falls for Sixth Consecutive Year

Construction’s unemployment rate continued its long stretch of year-over-year improvement in February, falling to 8.7% from the year-earlier 10.6%, but the rate was slightly worse than January’s 8.5%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. BLS reports that construction gained 19,000 jobs in February. Nearly all industry segments added jobs last month, led by residential specialty-trade contractors, whose workforce expanded by 13,800. Buildings construction picked up 6,400 jobs, and the heavy-civil engineering sector added 700. Architectural and engineering services, listed separately from construction, gained 5,500 jobs in February. Construction economists point out that total construction employment has risen 4% in the past year, to more than 6.6 million.

Tom Ichniowski has been writing about the federal government as ENR’s Washington Bureau Chief since the George H.W. Bush administration, and he has covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

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We'll address the current state of the construction market - amid tighter lending standards, and with interest rates finally expected to decline - as we reach the halfway point of 2024. Top forecasters will share their views on the market prospects for the industry at midyear, both nationally & regionally, in the midst of these unique challenges.