Construction Employment Grew by 30K in October

Arlington, VA, November 5, 2018-Construction employment increased by 30,000 jobs in October and by 330,000 jobs over the past year, topping 7.3 million for the first time since April 2008, while the industry's average pay jumped and unemployment decreased to a historic low, according to an analysis of government data by the Associated General Contractors of America.

Despite the steep gains in employment and pay, a recent survey by the association finds contractors continue to struggle to find qualified workers.

Construction employment totaled 7,318,000 in October, a gain of 4.7% over the past 12 months. Employment in residential construction-comprising residential building and specialty trade contractors-grew by 16,600 jobs for the month and 143,500 jobs over the past 12 months, a 5.3% increase. Employment in nonresidential construction-including building, specialty trades, and heavy and civil engineering construction-grew by 13,500 jobs in October and 187,200 jobs during the past year, a 4.4% increase, Simonson noted.

In the recent AGC-Autodesk Workforce survey, 76% of respondents said their firms plan to increase their headcount of hourly craft workers in the next year. However, 80% of the firms said they are having trouble filling hourly positions. For all but one of 20 specific crafts included in the survey, a majority of respondents reported that they were having more trouble hiring craft personnel this year compared to last year. Furthermore, over three-quarters of respondents replied that the local programs for supplying well-trained, skilled craft personnel were poor or only fair.

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