Construction's unemployment rate rose in January, to 22.5% from December's 20.7%, partly reflecting the industry's usual winter slowdown, but was improved from January 2010's 24.7% rate.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest monthly employment snapshot, released on Feb. 4, also shows that construction lost 32,000 jobs in January, on a seasonally adjusted basis. About two-thirds of those losses came in the nonresidential specialty trade contractors segment.