The nation’s construction industry saw only marginal employment gains last month, according to a new report just released by the Associated General Contractors of America.
And those increases may be primarily due to firms increasingly being forced to draw from a smaller labor pool, continues the report.
In a statement, Stephen E. Sandherr, chief executive officer of the AGC, remarked: “The construction sector would have added more jobs in October if only firms could find people to bring on board.”
Sandherr added that “labor market conditions are so tight, however, that the sector barely increased in size even as demand remains strong for many types of construction projects.”
An increase of 1,000 new employees last month, for a total of 7.7 million nationally, saw gains primarily with residential building firms. On the other side of the ledger, jobs were off by 4,000 among specialty trade contractors; and a smaller loss of 400 with heavy and civil construction firms.
Pay levels, meanwhile, were up to $35.27 in October, up from the $33.41 recorded in October 2021. Average weekly earnings, at the same time, saw increases of $1,372 last month over $1,296 from October 2021.
In a separate collection of figures, the new AGC report also indicates that the number of unemployed construction workers jumped from 398,000 in October 2021, to last month’s 419.000.
The AGC has repeatedly urged the Biden Administration and Congress to tackle construction workforce shortages through a number of approaches, including allowing for more workers with construction expertise to lawfully enter the country as a means of providing short-term relief.
By Garry Boulard
