The construction industry lost 975,000 jobs on net in April, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This was the largest recorded decrease in construction jobs since the government began tracking employment in 1939, despite construction remaining an essential industry in much of the nation through April.
Nonresidential construction employment lost 560,500 jobs on net in April. There were job losses in all three nonresidential segments, with the largest decline registered among nonresidential specialty trade contractors, which lost 393,100 jobs. Nonresidential building lost 88,500 jobs, while heavy and civil engineering lost 78,900 jobs.
The construction unemployment rate was 16.6% in April, up 11.9 percentage points from the same time last year. Unemployment across all industries rose from 4.4% in March to 14.7% last month. This was the highest rate since the BLS started tracking unemployment in 1948. Because of technical reasons related to the BLS survey and a classification error in several responses, the unemployment rate is probably closer to 20%.
“The hope had been that construction activity would hold up well given the industry’s classification as an essential industry in much of the nation and the presence of substantial backlog coming into the crisis, which stood at 8.2 months in February, according to ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “But alas, in large measure, those hopes were not realized. The level of construction industry job loss in April easily surpassed that of the worst month sustained during the Great Recession, when 155,000 jobs were lost in March 2009. Between April 2006 and January 2011, construction industry employment declined by 2.3 million. The construction industry lost nearly a million jobs last month alone.
“Based on a combination of business confidence indicators, initial unemployment claims and other emerging data, May will represent another month of crushing construction employment loss,” said Basu. “Project postponements and cancellations are now commonplace, with construction backlog failing to be the protective shield that it normally is during the early stages of economywide recession.”
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Sep 5, 2023
Top 80 Construction Management Firms for 2023
Alfa Tech, CBRE Group, Skyline Construction, Hill International, and JLL top the rankings of the nation's largest construction management (as agent) and program/project management firms for nonresidential buildings and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 5, 2023
Top 150 Contractors for 2023
Turner Construction, STO Building Group, DPR Construction, Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., and Clark Group head the ranking of the nation's largest general contractors, CM at risk firms, and design-builders for nonresidential buildings and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Market Data | Sep 5, 2023
Nonresidential construction spending increased 0.1% in July 2023
National nonresidential construction spending grew 0.1% in July, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.08 trillion and is up 16.5% year over year.
Giants 400 | Aug 31, 2023
Top 35 Engineering Architecture Firms for 2023
Jacobs, AECOM, Alfa Tech, Burns & McDonnell, and Ramboll top the rankings of the nation's largest engineering architecture (EA) firms for nonresidential buildings and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 115 Architecture Engineering Firms for 2023
Stantec, HDR, Page, HOK, and Arcadis North America top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture engineering (AE) firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
2023 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
A record 552 AEC firms submitted data for BD+C's 2023 Giants 400 Report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 175 Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, HKS, Perkins&Will, Corgan, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Apartments | Aug 22, 2023
Key takeaways from RCLCO's 2023 apartment renter preferences study
Gregg Logan, Managing Director of real estate consulting firm RCLCO, reveals the highlights of RCLCO's new research study, “2023 Rental Consumer Preferences Report.” Logan speaks with BD+C's Robert Cassidy.
Market Data | Aug 18, 2023
Construction soldiers on, despite rising materials and labor costs
Quarterly analyses from Skanska, Mortenson, and Gordian show nonresidential building still subject to materials and labor volatility, and regional disparities.
Apartments | Aug 14, 2023
Yardi Matrix updates near-term multifamily supply forecast
The multifamily housing supply could increase by up to nearly 7% by the end of 2023, states the latest Multifamily Supply Forecast from Yardi Matrix.