March 5, 2010
U.S. construction employment hits 14-year low
The U.S. construction unemployment rate jumped to 27.1 per cent and construction employment dropped to a 14-year low as another 64,000 construction workers lost jobs in February, according to new labour numbers.
The economy would have added jobs had it not been for the declines in construction employment for the third time in four months, the Associated General Contractors of America said.
“While the broader economy may be recovering, the construction industry continues to decline at an alarming rate,” said AGCA chief economist Ken Simonson.
The industry’s job losses in February were consistent with the prior six months, the AGCA said, noting that construction unemployment is at the highest level recorded since the federal government began making the data available in 1976.
Overall declines in construction activity have cost 2.2 million construction workers their jobs since industry employment peaked in June 2006, a 28 per cent drop, according to the AGCA.
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Reed Construction Data Canada’s Chief Economist Alex Carrick discusses current developments in the North American economic environment with emphasis on the construction industry.
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