Construction’s jobless rate rose in September, to 11.9% from August’s 11.3%, although the industry added 5,000 jobs last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The upturn in the construction rate was the first since March.
The latest BLS monthly unemployment statistics, released on Oct. 5, also showed that the construction jobless rate last month was down from the September 2011 level of 13.3%—the 24th-straight month of year-over-year improvement.