February construction employment dropped by 31,000 jobs, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America.
AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson said the February decline was due to an “oversized increase” in January of 53,000 employees.
“That suggests contractors may have been able to bring workers on board sooner than normal and had less need to hire in February than usual, even if lousy weather conditions hadn’t stalled some projects,” Simonson said in a statement. Construction employment increased in 44 states year-over-year in January.
Construction employment grew 3.1 percent year-over-year in February, totaling 7.4 million. Hourly wages also increased 3.1 percent year-over-year to $30.45, which is 10 percent higher than the average private sector wage of $27.66, according to AGC.
