The construction industry's unemployment rate edged downward in August, to 13.5% from July’s 13.6%, the Labor Dept.'s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Last month's rate also was an improvement over the August 2010 level of 17.0%.
But the latest monthly BLS unemployment report, released on Sept. 2, also said construction lost 5,000 jobs in August and construction’s jobless rate was still the highest among U.S. industry categories.