Following a drop in construction employment in February that some suggested might be the start of a slump, the number of new jobs in the industry nationwide recovered in March. 

Construction employment increased by 16,000 jobs in March and by 246,000 jobs, or 3.4 percent, since March 2018, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. 

“Construction employment rebounded in March, indicating that the dip in February was probably related to extreme weather conditions and not the beginning of a slump,” the association’s chief economist Ken Simonson said in a statement. “In fact, the construction industry has added jobs at twice the rate of the overall economy in the past year.” 

Construction employment totaled 7,447,000 in March. The growth rate was double the 1.7 percent gain in total non-farm payroll employment, Simonson said. Average hourly earnings in construction – a measure of all wages and salaries – increased 3.3 percent over the year to $30.45. That figure was nearly 10 percent higher than the private-sector average of $27.70. 

“The average workweek in construction is at a record high for March and the number of unemployed jobseekers with construction experience is at all-time lows,” Simonson added. “These data suggest that contractors are having a hard time finding qualified workers even though the industry pays better than the private sector as a whole.” 

All construction industry employees averaged 39.9 hours of work per week in March, the highest March rate in the 14-year history of the series, Simonson said. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed jobseekers whose last job was in construction totaled 490,000 in March, a steep decline from the 696,000 such workers in March 2018 and the lowest March total since the series began in 2000. The unemployment rate for those jobseekers amounted to just 5.2 percent, down sharply from the 7.4 percent rate a year earlier. The economist said the lack of experienced workers to hire results in longer-than-usual hours for short-handed construction crews. 

In a survey the association released in January, more contractors reported they expect the dollar volume of projects available to bid on to expand than to shrink in 2019 in each of 13 project categories. In addition, 79 percent of respondents reported that they expect to add employees in 2019. However, nearly as many – 78 percent – reported they were having trouble filling some positions and 68 percent said they expected that hiring would remain difficult or become harder. 

“Our member firms continue to worry about finding enough workers to fulfill the demand for construction.” association CEO Stephen E. Sandherr said in a statement. “The only way to ensure that the construction industry continues to grow is to develop more skilled domestic workers that contractors need and to allow construction firms to seek qualified workers from outside the United States.”