Employment gains diminish but exceed those in other sectors

An estimated 7.1 million Americans were employed by the construction industry during June 2001 — 3.3 percent more than at the same time last year. Although the total number of jobs in the nation's construction sector declined by 7,000 between May and June, the industry remains much healthier than most of the rest of the economy. Construction's modest over-the-year job growth is in sharp contrast to the 4.1 percent over-the-year loss of jobs recorded by the nation's manufacturing sector. With construction spending growth slowing during 2001, however, fewer new construction jobs will be created following annual expansion that has averaged about 5 percent over the past six years.

This year's construction employment gain will likely be only 2 to 3 percent.