The construction industry lost 7,000 jobs from July to August, marking the third consecutive month of job losses in the industry, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Within the industry, residential construction lost 6,100 jobs.
On a year-over-year basis, industry employment increased by 58,000 jobs, representing a 0.7% rise.
Residential construction employment now stands at 3.3 million as of August, comprising 954,000 builders and 2.4 million residential specialty trade contractors.
The construction unemployment rate dropped to 3.2% in August. Unemployment rates across all industries increased from 4.2% in July to 4.3% in August.
“The construction industry has now lost jobs in each of the past three months,” Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu said in a statement. “Industrywide employment is up by just 6,000 positions since December, and every subsegment except for heavy and civil engineering lost jobs in August. Despite these job losses, construction labor shortages appear to be worsening as immigration policy weighs on the supply of workers; the construction unemployment rate fell to 3.2% in August, matching the lowest level ever recorded.”
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