Construction employment grew by a net 11,000 jobs in September, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors review of new federal labor data.
ABC’s analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures showed industry headcount was 109,000 jobs, or 1.3%, above its level a year earlier.
Nonresidential construction added 16,100 positions, with every subcategory gaining ground. Nonresidential specialty trade contractors led with 12,300 new jobs, followed by heavy and civil engineering at 2,600 and nonresidential building at 1,200.
The construction unemployment rate stood at 3.5% for the month. The jobless rate for all industries rose to 4.2%, which was still 0.2 percentage points below its year-ago reading.
“The construction industry added jobs for the seventh straight month in September,” said Anirban Basu, Chief Economist at Associated Builders and Contractors. “Industry employment growth is increasingly concentrated on the nonresidential side as the data center boom continues to support rapid hiring of certain specialty trade contractors.”
“At the same time, the residential segment continues to hemorrhage workers, and that side of the industry has now shed 1.0% of its employment base over the past year,” Basu said. “Contractor hiring expectations remain elevated, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, an outlook that seems justified given the insatiable demand for new data centers.”