Construction Adds 20,000 Employees in November as Average Hourly Pay Jumps More Than 6 Percent
But record-tying low unemployment rate of 3.9 percent and elevated number of job openings suggest construction industry continues to fall short of hiring as many workers as it needs
Construction companies added 20,000 employees in November and continued to raise wages for hourly workers more steeply than other sectors as the industry’s unemployment rate tumbled, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government data. Association officials said the data shows that firms would have added significantly more workers if they could find more people to hire.
“It is heartening that both residential and nonresidential construction firms were able to add employees in November,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But the number of job openings continues to outpace hiring, suggesting employers wanted to bring on many more workers than they are able to find.”