Construction Industry Unemployment Rate Declines to 8.6%
Construction employers added 6,000 workers to payrolls in May as the industry’s unemployment rate dropped to 8.6%, its lowest May level in six years, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America.
“Even with five straight months of construction employment gains, the industry remains vulnerable to sudden shifts in demand,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Should Washington allow federal highway funding to come to a halt as predicted later this summer, the sudden loss of billions of dollars worth of demand would cost many construction workers, as well as workers from other segments of the economy, their jobs.”