Construction’s stubbornly high unemployment rate bounced upward in July to 18.2%, from 17.4% in June, says the U.S. Labor Dept.’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The industry’s jobless rate was more than 10 percentage points higher than July 2008’s level.
In its latest monthly employment report, released on Aug. 7, BLS says construction lost another 76,000 jobs in July, adjusted for seasonal variations, compared with average losses of 73,000 during the past three months. The industry has shed more than 1.3 million jobs since the recession began.