Nonresidential construction lost 4,300 jobs in June but was up 1,000 jobs quarterly and was down 44,900 jobs on a year-over-year basis, according to the July 2 release by the Department of Labor. Nonresidential building employment stands at 681,000 jobs.
Specialty trade contractors lost 13,000 jobs in June and 234,000 since June 2009, while heavy and civil engineering gained 1,300 jobs for the month and lost 38,200 year over year.
“Employment in nonresidential building construction continues to slump, a reflection of the fact that momentum in the broader economy has yet to meaningfully impact many segments of America’s nonresidential building construction industry,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “This is particularly true for privately financed segments, where a lack of momentum was also reflected in the July 1 data regarding construction spending.”
The residential building construction sector lost 1,500 jobs in June and 51,100 jobs compared to June 2009. Overall, the construction industry lost 22,000 for the month and 447,000 jobs year over year. The June non-seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rate stayed flat at 20.1 percent, up from the 17.4 percent in June 2009.
Total employment decreased by 125,000 for the month and the national unemployment rate as 9.5 percent, the lowest since July 2009.
“Hope remains that broader economic recovery will continue and eventually lift privately financed construction levels before the impact of the stimulus begins to fade,” said Basu. “Unfortunately, it appears that the lack of momentum in the construction industry is a reflection of what appears to be happening now in the U.S. economy.”
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