The construction industry added 311,000 jobs in July compared with July 2021—a 4.2% increase that brought total construction employment to 7.7 million, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America.
Compared with June, the construction industry grew by 32,000 jobs and its unemployment rate fell to 3.5%. Nonresidential construction firms added 18,300 positions between June and July, while residential construction firms grew by 14,100 jobs.
"Construction firms are doing their best to add new workers to keep pace with strong demand for construction," AGC CEO Stephen E. Sandherr said in a statement. "Despite the month's big gains, the industry's job gains would have been even higher if there were more people available to hire."
The unemployment rate for jobseekers with construction experience declined from 6.1% in July 2021 to 3.5%. “Meanwhile, the number of unemployed construction workers fell by 233,000, or 39%, to 359,000,” AGC noted.
The construction industry had 330,000 job openings at the end of June—the second-highest number of job openings for the month in 22 years of tracking construction job openings.
The full AGC report can be found here.
