Construction employment was unchanged in April, according to www.abc.org. The industry has added 917,000 jobs since April 2020, recovering 82.4% of the jobs lost since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The construction unemployment rate fell from 8.6% in March to 7.7% in April. The national unemployment rate for all industries rose from 6% in March to 6.1% in April as the U.S. economy added 266,000 jobs.
Nonresidential construction lost 2,900 jobs in April, driven by a loss of 11,800 jobs in the nonresidential trade contractor category. Heavy and civil engineering added 6,300 jobs on net, and nonresidential building added 2,600 jobs on net.
Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu said the lackluster employment report is not surprising.
“While many observers are shocked by today’s disappointing employment report, contractors and other employers have been signaling for weeks that all is not right in America’s labor market,” Basu said. “In particular, a growing chorus of employers indicates difficulty filling available job openings. Demand for human capital is elevated in many industries, but a combination of stimulus payments, stepped up unemployment insurance benefits, lingering fear of infection and remote schooling is slowing growth in labor force participation.
“There are problematic supply side factors, as well,” Basu continued. “Input shortages ranging from softwood lumber and steel to copper and semiconductors have pushed materials costs higher while simultaneously slowing down the ramping of production. Not coincidentally, despite elevated demand for vehicles, employment in the motor vehicles and parts manufacturing segment declined 27,000 in April.”
However, Basu said there are brighter days ahead.
“Based on ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, the typical contractor expects sales, staffing and margins to expand over the next six months,” he said. “As vaccination rates increase and infection rates turn lower, accumulated household savings combined with more effective supply chains should translate into improving economic performance. That in turn will help lift demand for construction services later this year and into 2022.”
