Residential Construction Jobs Up 2.2% Year On Year

Gains in the US housing market are now being seen, with official figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealing that residential construction jobs rose by 2.2 per cent in March compared to the same time a year ago. Overall, since the start of the year the market has seen an uptick of 0.2 per cent in seasonally adjusted jobs.

It was also found that residential skilled trade jobs were up 1.1 per cent compared to this time in 2022, Investopedia reports, although this positive traction is being suppressed somewhat by a lag in single-family home starts, minimal growth in sales of new homes and significant fluctuations in new jobs becoming available.

Rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, designed to curb inflation, are also having an impact on the construction industry, particularly where residential homebuilding jobs are concerned.

Official government data from January shows a near-50 per cent decline in construction job  openings month on month, the biggest monthly decline seen since records began more than 20 years ago.

Although analysis from the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) does show that jobs recovery was seen in February (with openings up by 129,000 over the month), figures are still down 9,000 from the same time in 2022.

Commenting on the findings, ABC economist Anirban Basu was quoted by the news source as saying: “The March employment report may hint at growing economic weakness in the months to come.

“While the non-residential construction industry lost fewer than 2,000 jobs, the addition of jobs in publicly financed construction categories masks more substantial weakness in private segments.

“It is precisely those private segments that tend to be most affected by slowing economic growth, deteriorating confidence and concerns regarding the nation’s banking system.”

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