Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 142,000, seasonally adjusted, in August and 2,482,000 (1.8%) over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on September 5. Construction employment rose by 20,000 for the month and 232,000 (4.0%) over the year to 6,068,000, the highest total since May 2009. Residential construction employment (residential building and specialty trade contractors) climbed by 13,200 for the month and 123,100 (5.7%) for the year. Nonresidential employment (building, specialty trades, and heavy and civil engineering construction) increased by 6,400 in August and 108,600 (3.0%) year-over-year.
All five residential and nonresidential segments added workers for the month and year. Average hourly earnings for all employees in construction rose 2.1% from August 2013 to August 2014, similar to the rate for the previous six months but up from 1.7% a year earlier. The unemployment rate for jobseekers who last worked in construction fell to the lowest August level in seven years: 7.7%, down from 9.1% in August 2013 and 17.0% in August 2010. (Industry unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted and should only be compared year-over-year, not across months.)
Since August 2010 the number of unemployed construction workers has dropped by 805,000, not seasonally adjusted, while construction employment rose by 543,000, implying that over 260,000 experienced workers in the past four years left the industry for employment elsewhere, further training or schooling, retirement, or left the workforce. However, in the latest 12 months, employment increased by more than the unemployment drop of 80,000, suggesting that contractors have begun to attract workers (back) into the industry. Contractors are invited to complete this survey to report their hiring experience.