Residential Falls, Commercial Gains: A Look At 3Q Economy
One out of seven net new hires in the economy went to nonresidential and specialty trades employment, according to an Aug.4 employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, observed that there are still many industries that are generating construction activity, particularly manufacturing, energy and power, business and leisure travel, and hospitals. “[These facilities] should sustain further growth in construction jobs,” Simonson said. However, the good news hid the not-so-good news, as the report also showed a slide in residential building and specialty trades employment, which together lost 9,000 jobs for the month. Simonson expects these categories will “continue to hemorrhage jobs once current projects are completed.”