Construction Sector Employment Increases in December, and Construction Unemployment Falls
Solid Job Growth in 2023
A closer look at Friday’s (1-5-24) Bureau of Labor Statistics Nonfarm Payroll Report for December, with a focus on the construction sector and additional analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), reveals that overall employment in the construction sector increased by 17,000 in December, following an increase of 6,000 in November. Residential construction added 5,500 new jobs, while nonresidential construction added 11,900.
According to NAHB analysis, residential construction employment in December was at 3.3 million. That is broken down as 936,000 builders and 2.4 million residential specialty trade contractors.
The 6-month moving average of jobs gains for residential construction was 4,000 jobs per month. Over the last 12 months, homebuilders and remodelers have added 40,100 jobs on net basis. Since the low point following the Great Recession, residential construction has added 1,316,800 positions.
In December, the unemployment rate for construction workers declined 1.2 percentage points to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.5%.
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