Construction employment increased by 110,000 in March, rebounding from a drop of 56,000 in February, according to analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America.
Construction employment totaled 7.5 million in March, 2.4% below the pre-pandemic peak in February 2020. Residential construction employment alone, however, is now 1.6% above the February 2020 level.
“The rebound in March is certainly good news, but contractors face growing challenges that imperil further growth in nonresidential employment,” stated Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist. “In fact, industry job gains in the first quarter of 2021 as a whole have slowed sharply from the second half of 2020.”
The total construction unemployment rate in March reached 8.6%, up from March 2020’s 6.9% unemployment rate.
The full AGC report can be found here.
