Construction industry employment rose by 17,000 jobs in May, as residential added 900 jobs and non-residential added 15,700, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Residential construction employment totaled 3.3 million, including 925,000 workers employed by builders and remodelers, and roughly 2.4 million residential specialty trade contractors.
Despite the month-over-month growth, the six-month moving average of job gains for residential construction remains negative, with an average monthly loss of 1,300 jobs and declines in three of the last six months, the report said. Additionally, residential construction has lost a net of 33,300 jobs over the last 12 months, resulting in 15 consecutive months of annual declines, the longest stretch since the Great Recession. Even so, residential construction has gained 1.3 million jobs since its lowest point during the Great Recession.
The overall construction unemployment rate reached 5.2% in May.
