Construction Employment Increases By 21,000 Between April And May
Arlington, VA - The
construction industry added 21,000 jobs in May and 251,000 jobs over
the past year, with increases at both nonresidential and residential
construction firms, according to an analysis
of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that nonresidential
contractors report continuing difficulty filling positions despite the
job gains, and they urged government officials to boost support for
career development and allow more employment-based immigration.
“Construction
firms have been adding workers at a faster clip than most sectors,”
said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But contractors
say they are still having trouble finding enough skilled workers to meet
the demand for data centers, manufacturing plants, renewable energy,
and infrastructure projects.”
Construction
employment in May totaled 8,228,000, seasonally adjusted, a gain of
21,000 from April. Residential construction firms—homebuilders and
specialty trade contractors—added 3,500 employees. The three types of
nonresidential contractors added a total of 17,100 employees: 3,000 at
nonresidential builders, 13,000 at nonresidential specialty trade
contractors, and 1,100 at heavy and civil engineering construction
firms.
The
industry added 251,000 jobs between May 2023 and last month, an
increase of 3.1 percent. Employment at nonresidential construction firms
rose by 179,000 or 3.8 percent, more than double the 1.8 percent
increase in total nonfarm employment. Residential construction
employment increased by 71,900 or 2.2 percent.
Average
hourly earnings for production and non-supervisory employees in
construction—covering most onsite craft workers as well as many office
workers—climbed by 4.3 percent over the year to $35.45 per hour.
Construction firms in April provided a wage “premium” of 18.2 percent
compared to the $29.99 average hourly earnings for all private-sector
production employees.
Association
officials said nonresidential contractors are still having difficulty
finding enough workers to execute projects on time. They urged
government officials at all levels to put more resources into education
and training programs for fields like construction. They also called
again on Congress and the Biden administration to allow construction
firms to sponsor qualified foreign workers to ease critical shortages of
skilled crafts.
“Current
immigration policy and inadequate funding levels for career and
technical education programs mean the federal government is preventing
many construction firms from meeting the demand for building
infrastructure, renewable energy facilities, and advanced manufacturing
plants,” said Jeffrey Shoaf, the association’s chief executive officer.
“It is essential that the government make an all-out commitment to
measures that can enable contractors to obtain the skilled workforce
required to deliver vitally needed projects.”
View the construction employment data.
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.