Construction Jobs Set Record in April

Washington, D.C., May 10, 2006-- "Construction employment set a record for the 15th straight month in April," Ken Simonson, chief economist of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), the nation's leading construction trade association, said. Simonson was commenting on the monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That report showed seasonally adjusted payroll employment in construction reached 7.51 million in April, a gain of 267,000, or 3.7 percent, from a year ago. "The construction industry has added jobs more than twice as fast as the 1.5 percent growth rate for total nonfarm payroll employment," Simonson commented. "Furthermore, all five BLS construction employment categories are up by more than 1.5 percent. Even homebuilders have continued to add workers, despite an expectation that housing would have tapered off by now. There is evidently still a backlog of sold but unbuilt houses."

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