Construction Employment Declines by 61,000 in February
Association Officials Urge Congress and Biden Administration to Focus on New Infrastructure Funding, Address Rising Materials Prices and Avoid Disruptive Measures like the PRO Act to Stem Sector Job Losses
Construction employment declined by 61,000 in February, while the sector’s unemployment rate soared to 9.6 percent amid severe winter weather and continuing weakness in new nonresidential projects, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released. Association officials urged Congress and the Biden administration to focus on new infrastructure funding, address rising materials prices and avoid disruptive measures like the PRO Act to stem further construction job losses.
“The steep decline in construction employment in February continues a downward trend in nonresidential activity that began before the disruptions caused by last month’s freezes and power losses,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Despite recovery in some parts of the economy, private nonresidential construction is still experiencing many canceled and postponed projects and few new starts.”