Construction employment increased by 16,000 jobs in August, but the gains were concentrated in housing, while the infrastructure and nonresidential building construction sector lost 11,000 jobs, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data. The new jobs data comes as association officials reported that a survey of more than 2000 contractors it released this week found growing pessimism about a return to normal levels of construction business amid a proliferation of project cancellations.
The AGC of America-Autodesk Workforce Survey, released on September 2, found that 38 percent of respondents expect it will take more than six months for their firm’s volume of business to return to normal, relative to a year earlier. In a survey the association conducted in mid-June, only 30 percent of firms said they expected a return to normal volume would require more than six months.
A likely reason for the more pessimistic outlook is the rapid increase in postponed or canceled projects, the economist said. He noted that the latest survey found 60 percent of firms report a scheduled project has been postponed or canceled, nearly double the 32 percent reporting cancellations in the June survey.
The employment pickup in August was limited to homebuilding, home improvement and a portion of nonresidential construction, Simonson noted. There was a rise of 27,700 jobs in residential construction employment, comprising residential building (3,200) and residential specialty trade contractors (24,500). There was a net decrease of 11,000 jobs in nonresidential construction employment, covering nonresidential building (10,200), specialty trades (-15,700) and heavy and civil engineering construction (-5,500).
The industry’s unemployment rate in August was 7.6 percent, with 762,000 former construction workers idled. These figures were more than double the August 2019 figures of 3.6 percent and 361,000 workers, respectively.
Association officials said that the commercial construction sector was likely to continue losing jobs without additional federal coronavirus relief measures. They urged Congress and the administration to pass a one-year extension to the current highway and transit law so state officials can properly plan for the next construction season. They also called for additional infrastructure funding, liability protections for contractors who are taking appropriate steps to protect workers from the coronavirus and other pro-growth measures.