Nonfarm payroll employment rose 215,000 in November and the unemployment rate held steady at 5%, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. BLS said, “Over the month, job growth was widespread, with large gains in construction [37,000] and food services.” BLS Commissioner Kathleen Utgoff commented, “Some of the recent job gains in construction reflect rebuilding and cleanup efforts following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. In November, for example, there was a substantial employment increase in heavy construction, which includes utility, road, and other major infrastructure work.” However, the industry added almost as many jobs-32,000-in August, before the storms. Over the past 12 months, construction employment rose 296,000 (4.1%), nearly triple the 1.5% economywide rate of increase. All five construction segments added jobs: 6% for heavy and civil engineering and residential specialty trades, 4% for residential building, and 3% and 2%, respectively, for nonresidential building and specialty trades.
The value of construction put in place in October set a record for the fourth straight month, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.132 trillion, the Census Bureau reported on Thursday. That was 0.7% higher than the upwardly revised September rate of $1.124 trillion (originally estimated at $1.120 trillion). The October figure was 8% higher than in October 2004. For the first 10 months of 2005, construction was 9% higher than in the same months of 2004. Over that span, private residential construction increased 11%, private nonresidential 5%, and public 8%. The biggest gains among large private subsectors were in multi-retail (general merchandise, shopping centers, and shopping malls), 25%; manufacturing construction, 24%; new multi-family, 21%; and hospitals, 13%. Office construction was up 5% year-to-date. Electric power construction was down 17%. Among public subsectors, sewage and waste disposal construction rose 13%, highways and streets, 12%; and educational, 7%. Census did not estimate any increases or decreases due to hurricanes. The Census numbers are not adjusted for price increases; thus, not all of the increases represent additional activity.