The construction industry was one of the three biggest sectors last month adding new jobs, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report.
Looking at a February report that many analysts have said is less than overwhelming, the construction industry added 19,000 news jobs, nearing the ceiling of the 14 top level industry sectors.
The construction industry’s gains were a little less than the 21,000 new jobs posted in the financial activities sector, and substantially smaller than the education and health services sector, with 73,000 new jobs.
But the construction industry’s gains were marginally greater than the 17,000 new jobs seen in the transportation and warehousing industry, and the 11,000 jobs in the government sector, which may also be currently challenged by federal budget cutting efforts resulting in substantial layoffs.
The manufacturing and wholesale trade sectors were next on the list, with 10,000 and 8,000 new jobs respectively. The smallest posted gain was recorded in the utilities sector with just over 1,000 new jobs.
Long a job-creation leader, the country’s leisure and hospitality sector lost 16,000 new jobs in February.
The construction industry recorded gains in the nonresidential, heavy & civil engineering, and residential specialty trade sectors.
Anirban Basu, chief economist with the Associated Builders and Contractors, said the February numbers were the “strongest month of growth since the third quarter of 2024, and the sizable industry unemployment rate indicates that the labor supply can accommodate ongoing hiring.”
Altogether, the country saw a gain of 151,000 new jobs last month. Noted the New York Sun: “The first monthly jobs report of Donald Trump’s second presidency points to a solid but unspectacular labor market.” The publication added that “economists had predicted about 170,000 new jobs.”
March 10, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
