There are more people working in construction than ever before following a surge of hires in December that brought the industry total to 7.7 million, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.
The employment gains represented a 3.1% increase compared with December 2021. Of the 28,000 added in December, 9,500 were residential building and specialty trade contractors.
The industry’s unemployment rate also hit a record-low for December as it fell to 4.4%, down from 5.0% in December 2021.
AGC predicts the number of construction hires will continue to increase in 2023. “But as optimistic as contractors are about 2023, they remain worried about their ability to find enough workers amid record-low unemployment,” AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson said in a statement.
Average hourly pay levels for the construction industry increased 6.1% year-over-year to $33.15 in December. “That increase exceeded the 5.0% rise in average pay for all private sector production workers,” AGC stated. “Such workers in construction now earn an average of 18.1% more per hour than in the private sector as a whole.”
The full AGC report can be found here.
