Construction’s April unemployment rate plunged to 7.5% from its year-earlier level of 9.5% as the industry added a solid 45,000 jobs, the Labor Dept. has reported.
The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report on the nation’s employment picture, released on May 8, also showed that construction’s jobless rate was well below March’s 9.4% figure.
The 7.5% rate last month was the industry's best April number since 2006, when the level was 6.9%.
The BLS rates aren’t seasonally adjusted. Construction’s rate tends to improve in the spring as the pace of projects picks up and firms add workers.