Construction Sector Leads Job Growth in March

The U.S. labor market saw modest growth in March following a weak February, with a slight increase in payroll employment and a decrease in the unemployment rate to 4.3%, according to the National Association of Homebuilders. Construction employment led job growth with 26,000 jobs added in the sector in March.

While wage growth slowed in March, with average hourly earnings rising 3.5% year-over-year, 0.7% lower than a year ago, it has been outpacing inflation for nearly two years, a sign of productivity increases.

Employment in the overall construction sector rose by 26,000 jobs in March, following a downwardly revised loss of 13,000 in February. Within construction, residential construction added 14,300 jobs, while non-residential construction increased 12,200.

Residential construction employment was reported at 3.3 million in March, including 932,000 workers employed by builders and remodelers and nearly 2.4 million residential specialty trade contractors.

The six-month moving average of job gains for residential construction turned positive at 800 per month, ending 14 months of negative readings. However, over the last 12 months, residential construction has shed a net 29,300 jobs, marking the thirteenth consecutive annual decline and the longest stretch of annual losses since the Great Recession. Despite these declines, residential construction has gained 1,318,200 positions from its post-Great Recession low.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for construction workers rose to 5.6% in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, though it remains relatively low compared with historical norms.