Construction employment fell by 61,000 jobs in February as the construction unemployment rate reached 9.6%, the Associated General Contractors of America reports.
The AGC credited the employment decline to severe weather and “continuing weakness in new nonresidential projects.”
“The steep decline in construction employment in February continues a downward trend in nonresidential activity that began before the disruptions caused by last month’s freezes and power losses,” stated Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist. “Despite recovery in some parts of the economy, private nonresidential construction is still experiencing many canceled and postponed projects and few new starts.”
Construction employment totaled 7.3 million in February, a 308,000, or 4.0%, decline compared with February 2020, the most recent peak.
Residential construction employment fell by 200 jobs in February but remained slightly ahead year-over-year.
A total of 921,000 former construction workers were unemployed in February, up from 531,000 a year earlier, when unemployment was at 5.5%.
The full AGC report can be found here.
