February Sees Strong Construction Employment Gains
Construction industry employment rose to 7.6 million in February after a gain of 31,000 residential construction jobs and 29,400 non-residential construction jobs, reports NAHB’s Eye on Housing. Residential construction employment is up year-over-year and the unemployment rate is down to 3.8% nationwide after a 0.2% decrease. Nearly 1.2 million jobs were created in the first two months of 2022 as monthly employment growth averages 580,000 on a monthly basis.
Employment in the overall construction sector increased by 60,000 in February, following a gain of 7,000 in January. It marks the largest gain in the past 20 months. Residential construction added 31,000 jobs, and non-residential construction employment rose by 29,400 in February.
Residential construction employment now stands at 3.1 million in February, broken down as 891,000 builders and 2.2 million residential specialty trade contractors. The 6-month moving average of job gains for residential construction was 12,800 a month. Over the last 12 months, home builders and remodelers added 135,400 jobs on a net basis.