Construction Sector Employment Declined in January 2022

A closer look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Nonfarm Payroll Report, with a specific emphasis on the construction industry and analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), reveals that employment in the construction sector overall declined by 5,000 in January — ending six consecutive months of increases.

In January, residential construction employment increasing by 4,400 jobs. That was offset by a 9,000-job loss in the nonresidential construction sector.

Residential construction employment in January stands at 3.1 million, broken down as 883,000 builders and 2.2 million residential specialty trade contractors. The 6-month moving average of job gains for residential construction was 6,417 a month. Over the last 12 months, home builders and remodelers added 88,000 jobs on a net basis. Since the low point following the Great Recession, residential construction has gained 1,104,200 positions.

In January, the unemployment rate for construction workers rose by 0.7 percentage points to 5.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The unemployment rate for construction workers has been trending lower, after reaching 14.2% in April 2020, due to the housing demand impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.