Construction Loses 3,000 Jobs In August

摘要

Construction shed 3,000 jobs in August as losses in the nonresidential sector outpaced gains in residential building, but the industry's unemployment rate improved sharply from July and year-earlier levels. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly employment report, released on Sept. 3, showed that construction's jobless rate fell to 4.6% in August from July's 6.1% and was well below the year-earlier level of 7.6%. All of construction's August job losses came in nonresidential segments, according to preliminary BLS figures. The steepest decline was in the nonresidential specialty trade contractors category, which lost 9,200 positions. Heavy and civil engineering construction shed 8,300 jobs, and the nonresidential building workforce was down by 2,800 jobs. By far the strongest segment was residential specialty trade contractors, which added 17,300 jobs. Construction's August workforce totaled 7,416,000, up 193,000, or 2.7%, from the year-earlier level. But August's mark still was 232,000 below the pre-pandemic, February 2020 total. BLS jobs figures are adjusted for seasonal variations, but its unemployment rates aren't seasonally adjusted.