Nonfarm payroll employment in August fell by 54,000, seasonally adjusted, as layoffs of temporary Census workers swamped an increase of 67,000 in private-sector payrolls, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. The unemployment rate in August was 9.6% (9.5%, not seasonally adjusted), up slightly from 9.5% in July. "In construction, employment was up by 19,000 in August; however, about half of the increase was due to the return of 10,000 workers to their jobs following a strike in July," BLS Commissioner Keith Hall said in a statement. "On net, construction employment is about unchanged since March." The construction unemployment rate in August was 17.0%, not seasonally adjusted, the highest August rate since BLS began calculating industry rates in 1976 and up from 16.5% a year before. (Unadjusted rates for industries with large seasonal swings, such as construction, should be compared only to the same month in past years, not across months. BLS does not disseminate seasonally adjusted industry rates.) Over the past year, seasonally adjusted construction employment declined by 274,000 (4.7%) with decreases in all five BLS categories: nonresidential specialty trade contractors, 123,700 (5.8%); residential specialty trade contractors, 63,200 (4.0%); residential building, 45,700 (7.4%); nonresidential building, 31,900 (4.5%); and heavy and civil engineering construction, 10,000 (1.2%). Architectural and engineering services employment, a harbinger of future demand for construction, was flat for the month and down 24,400 (1.9%) over 12 months. Average hourly earnings for all workers in construction rose 3 cents to $25.20 in August, seasonally adjusted, and 28 cents (1.1%) from August 2009.

CONSTRUCTION ADDED 19,000 JOBS LAST MONTH AS STRIKE ENDS  BUT INDUSTRY'S 17 PERCENT UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS HIGHEST EVER FOR AUGUST

Industry Association Urges Congress and the Administration to Act on Long-Delayed Infrastructure Bills and Avoid Tax Rate Increases or Risk Further Job Losses 

The construction industry added 19,000 jobs in August as a strike that had lowered employment in July ended, but the sector's 17 percent unemployment rate was the highest August rate ever, according to a new analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of federal employment data released today.  Continuing gridlock in Washington over infrastructure legislation and expiring tax rates threatens to keep construction workers unemployed much longer, association officials warned. 

CONSTRUCTION SPENDING SINKS TO 10-YEAR LOW IN JULY AS INVESTMENTS IN PROJECTS ARE NOW 34 PERCENT BELOW FEBRUARY 2006 PEAK

Private Sector Caution, Plus Local and State Budget Cuts, Overwhelm Benefits of Stimulus, Construction Trade Association Notes in New Analysis of Spending Data Released by Federal Officials Today

Total construction spending declined to a 10-year low of $805 billion in July, as investments in construction projects dropped 1.0 percent from a downwardly revised June total, the Associated General Contractors of America said today in an analysis of new Census Bureau data.  Association officials noted that the new figures show depressed private sector activity, and local and state budget cuts are offsetting stimulus-funded construction spending.

CONSTRUCTION JOBS DROP IN 266 OUT OF 337 METRO AREAS BETWEEN JULY 2009 & 2010 AS "SUMMER OF RECOVERY" MEETS YEAR OF LOW DEMAND

Chicago and Flagstaff, Arizona Lose Most Jobs, While Prince Georges-Calvert-Charles Counties, MD and Eau Claire, Wisconsin Top List of Metro Areas Adding Jobs for the Year

Construction employment declined in 266 out of 337 metropolitan areas between July 2009 and July 2010, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America.  The employment figures demonstrate the widespread decline in demand for construction services that continues to outpace stimulus-funded work, association officials noted.

Construction employment increased in 31 metro areas from July 2009 to July 2010 (not seasonally adjusted), was unchanged in 30, and declined in 276, AGC reported today, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. (For most areas, BLS combines construction with mining and logging to prevent disclosure of data for industries with few employers.) Slightly more metros showed gains (31 vs. 25) or no change (30 vs. 27) than in the June 2009-June 2010 period. The largest percentage gains were in the Eau Claire, Wisconsin metro (16%, 500 combined jobs) and the Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, Massachusetts-New Hampshire division (13%, 500 combined jobs) of the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy New England City and Town Area. The largest number of combined jobs were added in the Calvert-Charles-Prince Georges, Maryland portion (8%, 2,800 jobs) of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia-Virginia-Md.-West Virginia metro and the Kansas City, Kansas portion (9%, 1,700 combined jobs) of the Kansas City metro area. The Chicago-Joliet-Naperville division lost more construction jobs (32,900 jobs, 23%) than any other metro area, reflecting a construction strike that has since ended. Flagstaff, Arizona lost the highest percentage (32%, 700 combined jobs), followed by Napa, California (31%, 1,000 combined jobs). Other areas experiencing large declines in the number of construction jobs included Las Vegas (14,800 jobs, 24%) and Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown (14,700 jobs, 8%).

CONSTRUCTION JOB GAINS BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD, LOSSES LESS SEVERE AS SIX STATES ADD JOBS BETWEEN JULY 2009 & 2010; 26 STATES ADD JOBS IN THE PAST MONTH

Kansas Tops Yearly and Vermont & New York Top Monthly Gainers; California and Nevada Experience Most Job Losses During Past Year While Illinois Experiences Largest Monthly Percent Decline

Construction job gains were more widespread across the country and job losses were generally less severe in July than in June, the Associated General Contractors of America reported in an analysis of state employment data released today by the Labor Department. Twenty-six states added construction jobs in July, compared to 19 in June, while six states added construction jobs over the past year and most others are losing far fewer jobs than previously, association officials noted.

Seasonally adjusted construction employment in July increased in 26 states, dropped in 23 states plus D.C., and was unchanged in Alaska, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Over the past 12 months, six states added construction jobs (Kansas, 6.9%, 500 jobs; New Hampshire, 5.0%, 1,100 jobs; Oklahoma, 2.8%, 1,900 jobs; West Virginia, 2.4%, 800 jobs; Alaska, 1.9%, 300 jobs; and Arkansas, 1.5%, 800 jobs). Nebraska had no change, while 43 states plus D.C. lost construction jobs, led by Nevada (-22%, -17,300 jobs).

AGC has compiled tables of PPIs for construction materials and segments as well as analysis. The data is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly report and covers over 50 construction specific data series.

Have contractors stopped buying high and selling low? Maybe for the moment, but the pattern over the past year is still unfavorable.

A new analysis by AGC of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data on average hourly earnings (payroll divided by employee hours) in construction (www.bls.gov/ces) shows a dramatic slowdown for most subsectors since 2008. Average pay for all employees in the industry increased 4.0% in 2007, 4.8% in 2008, 1.9% in 2009 and only 1.1% in the 12 months ending in June. For production and nonsupervisory employees (roughly equivalent to craft workers), the increases were 4.2% in 2007, 5.4% in 2008, 2.1% in 2009 and 2.3% in the latest 12 months, showing that these workers received slightly larger pay increases on average each period than other employees. Pay increases slowed much more in some subsectors than others. For instance, craft workers at masonry contracting firms had an 11.6% average pay increase in 2008 but a drop of 0.4% in the latest 12 months; at roofing contractors, average increases slowed only from 3.5% in 2008 to 1.4% in the latest 12 months. Pay for all employees in June averaged $23.03, not seasonally adjusted, for the entire industry and ranged from $19.81 for painting and wall covering contractors to $29.63 for new-multifamily general contractors.