Gains in Residential and Non-Residential Construction Employment Reported in July

A closer look at the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics nationwide total nonfarm payroll for July, with a specific focus on construction employment and analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), reveals that across the 48 states which reported construction sector jobs data — which includes both residential as well as non-residential construction — 29 states reported an increase in July compared to June, while 17 states lost construction sector jobs. Kansas and Tennessee reported no change. North Carolina added 4,300 construction jobs while Colorado lost 1,600.

Overall, the construction industry gained 11,000 jobs in July compared to the previous month. In percentage terms, New Jersey increased by 2.7% while New Hampshire reported a decline of 2.2% between June and July. Year-over-year, construction sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 224,000, which is a 3.1% increase compared to the July 2020 level.

California added 39,900 jobs, which was the largest gain of any state, while New York lost 3,600 jobs, which was the largest decline. In percentage terms, Rhode Island had the highest annual growth rate in the construction sector by 15.1%. Over this period, Wyoming reported the largest decline at 4.3%.