Average hourly earnings in construction increased 6.0% year-over-year in May to $34.07 per hour, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. The industry provided a wage “premium” of approximately 19% compared to average hourly earnings for private sector production employees.
The increase in hourly earnings came as the construction sector added 25,000 jobs in May to total 7.9 million. The majority of the increase was among non-residential contractors, as the number of residential building and specialty trade contractors grew by only 2,500 or 0.1%.
The industry’s total unemployment rate fell from 3.8% to 3.5% month-over-month, becoming the second lowest May rate in 23 years of data.
“Demand for construction workers remains strong, outside of homebuilding,” stated Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist. “Contractors continue to report their primary challenge is finding qualified workers, not finding projects or most materials.”
The full AGC report can be found here.
