Residential and Non-Residential Construction Employment Continued to Grow in September

A closer look at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) total nonfarm payroll report for September 2022, with a focus on construction employment and additional analysis proved by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), reveals that employment in the construction sector increased by 19,000 to a total of 7.7 million in September.

Residential construction added 6,4000 jobs, and employment currently is above its February 2020 level. Non-residential construction increased by 13,100 jobs, with 84% of the non-residential construction jobs lost in March and April since regained.

Residential construction employment now stands at 3.2 million; that is broken down as 901,000 builders and 2.3 million residential specialty trade contractors. Over the past year, home builders and remodelers added 110,500 jobs on a net basis. Since the low point following the Great Recession, residential construction has gained 1,192,800 positions.

In September, the unemployment rate for construction workers declined by 0.5 percentage points to 4.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The unemployment rate for construction workers has been trending lower, after reaching 14.2% in April 2020—the result of the pandemic’s impact on housing demand.