US construction unemployment at a record low, wages up

That’s according to analysis of new data by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), which has been compiling figures on construction employment for the past 25 years.

Construction employment in August totalled 8,280,000, which was a seasonally adjusted increase of 34,000 from July. The sector has added 228,000 jobs during the past 12 months, an increase of 2.8%.

All types of construction firms added employees in August. Meanwhile average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees increase 3.8% to $35.81 per hour. Overall private sector pay for production workers rose 4.1% to $30.27, representing a wage “premium” in construction of just over 18% compared to the overall private sector.

“Construction job growth was the strongest in five months in August,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But the record-low unemployment rate for jobseekers with construction experience shows how much difficulty contractors face in finding qualified workers.”

“The jobs numbers would have been higher today if more firms could find qualified people to hire,” said Jeffrey D. Shoaf, the association’s chief executive officer. “Instead of boosting payrolls even further, contractors in many parts of the country are having to pass on bidding projects because there aren’t enough people to keep pace with demand.”