September Construction Jobs Increase as Nonresidential Sector Leads
Key Highlights
- The construction industry added 11,000 jobs in September, marking seven consecutive months of growth
- Nonresidential construction, especially data centers, is the primary driver of employment gains this month
- Residential construction employment has declined by 1.0% over the past year, facing ongoing challenges
WASHINGTON, DC — Data released September 2 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the construction industry added 11,000 jobs (on net) in September. Year-over-year, construction industry employment has increased by 109,000 jobs, or 1.3%.
Nonresidential construction increased by 16,100 positions in September. Among the three nonresidential categories:
- Nonresidential specialty trade added 12,300 jobs
- Heavy and civil engineering added 2,600 jobs
- Nonresidential building added 1,200 jobs
The construction unemployment rate was 3.5% last month. Unemployment across all industries increased to 4.2% but is 0.2 percentage points lower than one year ago.
Data Center Boom, Residential Slump
“The construction industry added jobs for the seventh straight month in September,” said Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Industry employment growth is increasingly concentrated on the nonresidential side as the data center boom continues to support rapid hiring of certain specialty trade contractors.
“At the same time, the residential segment continues to hemorrhage workers, and that side of the industry has now shed 1.0% of its employment base over the past year,” said Basu. “Contractor hiring expectations remain elevated, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, an outlook that seems justified given the insatiable demand for new data centers.”
Visit abc.org/economics for the Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index, plus analysis of spending, employment, job openings and the Producer Price Index.