Construction Jobs Picture Largely Unchanged in July, Unemployment Dips Slightly
With the summer construction season well underway, the employment situation for the industry hasn’t changed much in July.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that construction employment in July was relatively flat compared to June, with small gains in some sectors. Construction employment rose an unadjusted 0.1% adding some 4,000 jobs, off from larger gains in June. Year-over-year construction employment for July is up by roughly 2.8% in seasonally adjusted measurements.
The jobless rate declined slightly, from 4.0% to 3.8%, shaving off a small rise seen in June. That figure is still 0.4% higher than the 3.4% construction unemployment rate reported back in July 2018. The most recent statistics have not be seasonally adjusted.
According to the BLS, a small rise in employment among specialty trade contractors and in building construction in July was offset by a slight drop in the heavy and civil engineering construction sectors. Employment year-over-year for specialty contractors saw the largest improvement among the sectors of the industry measured by the BLS, with a 3.5% increase since July 2018.
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