Construction Employment and Spending Up for the Year, Down for the Month

Construction employment slipped slightly in July, losing 6,000 jobs from the previous month to total 5.8 million. However, construction employment was up by 166,000 jobs, or 3 percent, year-over-year, according to the Aug. 2 edition of Data DIGest from the Associated General Contractors of America. Nonresidential construction employment fell by 11,500 jobs in July but was up 74,300 jobs, or 2.1 percent, year-over-year. The report attributes the 3.5 percent year-over-year increase in total aggregate construction hours worked to contractors lengthening working hours and hiring new workers.Construction spending in June totaled $884 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, down 0.6 percent from May and up 3.3 percent from June 2012, according to the Data DIGest report. New multifamily spending decreased by 3.3 percent in June, but jumped 41 percent year-over-year, the largest increase of the three residential components for the year.

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