AGC Analysis Finds Construction Employment Continuing To Rise In November
Arlington, VA - Construction companies added 20,000 employees in November and continued to raise
wages for hourly workers more steeply than other sectors as the industry’s unemployment
rate tumbled, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of
new government data. Association officials said the data shows that firms would
have added significantly more workers if they could find more people to hire.
“It is heartening that both residential and nonresidential
construction firms were able to add employees in November,” said. “But the
number of job openings continues to outpace hiring, suggesting employers wanted
to bring on many more workers than they are able to find.”
Construction employment totaled a record-high 7,750,000 in
November, an increase of 20,000 for the month and 248,000 or 3.3 percent from
a year earlier. Nonresidential firms—comprising nonresidential building and
specialty trade contractors along with heavy and civil engineering construction
firms—added 16,300 employees in November. Residential building and specialty
trade contractors together added 3,900 employees.
Pay levels in the construction industry continued to increase
in November at a faster pace than in the overall private sector. Average hourly
earnings for production and nonsupervisory workers in construction—mostly hourly
craft workers—climbed by 6.1 percent, from $31.04 in November 2021 to $32.94
last month. That increase exceeded the 5.8 percent rise in average pay for all
private sector production workers. Such workers in construction now earn an average
of 17.2 percent more per hour than in the private sector as a whole.
The unemployment rate among jobseekers with construction experience
decreased from 4.7 percent in November 2021 to 3.9 percent last month, tying the
2018 rate for the lowest ever for November. The number of unemployed construction
workers fell by 16 percent, from 469,000 in November 2021 to 393,000 in November of 2022.
A separate government report on Wednesday showed there were
377,000 job openings in construction at the end of October, which exceeded the
number of employees—341,000—hired during that month. The excess of job openings
over hires indicated the industry wanted to hire more than twice as many workers
as it was able to find in the current low-unemployment environment, Simonson said.
Association officials noted they were taking steps to help,
including running digital advertising recruiting campaigns and working to increase
employee retention rates in the industry. But too few students are exposed to
construction career opportunities in school as educators encourage most students
to pursue college degrees and office jobs, they warned. As a result, high-paying
construction positions remain unfilled while many college graduates struggle to
pay off student loans in lower paying jobs.
“Public
officials are missing a great opportunity to put many more people on the path
to financial security,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief
executive officer. “Instead of encouraging students to amass even more debt,
we should be exposing them to careers where they can earn a great living without
worrying about unsustainable levels of college debt.”
About The Associated General Contractors Of America
The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) is a leading association for the construction industry. AGC represents more than 26,000 firms, including over 6,500 of America’s leading general contractors, and over 9,000 specialty-contracting firms. More than 10,500 service providers and suppliers are also associated with AGC, all through a nationwide network of chapters. To learn more, visit www.agc.org.