Continuing a trend that has been ongoing throughout the year, construction companies hired more than 20,000 new workers in November.
According to a new analysis compiled by the Associated General Contractors of America, the residential construction sector took on around 3,900 new people last month, with nonresidential construction employment seeing a marginal gain of 300 workers.
Building contractors saw a healthy increase of 8,200 people, followed by a gain of 5,300 workers recorded by the nation’s civil engineering firms.
While most industry segments noted November job gains, specialty trade contractors saw a decrease of 5,500, with building contractors off by 2,600.
At the same time, seasonally adjusted average hourly rates for nonsupervisory and production employees have seen an increase of just over 6% compared to November of 2021—a figure larger than the average 5.8% increase for all private sector employees in the last 12 months.
The latest increases work out to just under $33 an hour nationally.
A press release issued by the AGC suggests that despite the new job gains, construction job openings continue to outpace hiring, a sign that employers “wanted to bring on many more workers than they are able to find.”
By Garry Boulard
