Specialty Contractors Drive Construction's 11K Jobs Gain in April
The construction industry boosted hiring by 17,000 positions in May, with nonresidential contractors leading the way with an overall net gain of 15,700 positions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' April jobs report, released May 2, showed somewhat surprising overall employment gains, with an increase of 177,000 jobs for the month. And thanks to specialty trade contractors, in particular, construction was among the industries adding workers last month, posting an overall gain of 11,000 positions.
Specialty trade contractors—including both residential and nonresidential firms—collectively showed an overall gain of 9,000 positions. Contractors that primarily perform nonresidential construction work added an estimated 4,900 workers during April, while residential specialty firms reported an estimated gain of 4,100 positions.
According to BLS, building contractors also boosted employment, adding an estimated 2,900 positions during the past month. Here, though, residential and nonresidential diverged in terms of hiring, with residential contractors showing a decline of 700 positions, while nonresidential builders added 3,600 workers.
By contrast, though, the heavy and civil engineering construction category showed a decline of 500 positions, according to the report.
Wage Rates Fueling Continued Job Gains?
Calling the industry's addition of 11,000 positions in April "perfectly acceptable," Associated Builders and Contractors' chief economist Anirban Basu commented, “Despite weak construction spending data for March and several economic headwinds, including high interest rates, tight lending standards and trade policy uncertainty, backlog remains sufficiently elevated to keep industry employment growing for the time being."
At the same time, though, Basu said, "For now, contractors remain broadly optimistic, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, and industrywide staffing levels continue to expand.”
Ken Simonson, chief economist for Associated General Contractors of America, citing the association's analysis of government data, credited the industry's wage rates as a primary reason for continued job gains.
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“The construction industry continued to add workers at a faster clip than other sectors in April as the industry boosted pay more than other private employers,” Simonson said in a statement. “But uncertainty over tariffs and other policy reversals may cause a halt to many projects and employment gains.”
At the same time, Jeffrey D. Shoaf, AGC's chief executive officer, commented that “Keeping construction costs stable is key to jumpstarting many projects that have been stalled by market uncertainties. The best way to do that is to encourage more people to pursue high-paying construction careers and to take steps to mitigate the impacts of tariffs on construction costs.”
The industry will likely continue to be challenged to find sufficient workforce. In April, ABC noted that construction's unemployment rate rose to 5.6%, while the nationwide rate remained at 4.2%.
