Construction employment grew by 5,000 jobs in November and by 282,000 jobs year-over-year, an increase of 4 percent, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).
The November unemployment rate dropped from 5 percent in 2017 to 3.9 percent. Hourly earnings averaged $30.28 in November, a 3.7 percent increase from November 2017. Average hourly earnings in the construction industry are now 10.7 percent above the average for all nonfarm private-sector jobs.
“Demand for construction remains strong, and pay is rising faster than in the overall economy,” AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson said in a statement. “But contractors are having increasing difficulty finding qualified workers as industry unemployment slides to historic lows.”
