Construction Unemployment Improves in 35 States as Rate Falls to Lowest Ever for August
The not seasonally adjusted (NSA) national construction unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in August, down 0.4 percent from a year ago and the lowest August rate on record, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported. Unemployment rates were also down in 35 states on a year-over-year basis, according to an analysis released today by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). Rates rose in nine states and were unchanged in six.
In the Carolinas, construction unemployment reflected the national trends. North Carolina was at 4.5 percent. South Carolina was better at 4.9 percent. Finding and retaining skilled construction workers continues to be a challenge for many general contractors and subcontractors in the Carolinas.
Further, the construction industry employed 206,000 more workers than in August 2016.The not seasonally adjusted (NSA) national construction unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in August, down 0.4 percent from a year ago and the lowest August rate on record, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported. Unemployment rates were also down in 35 states on a year-over-year basis, according to an analysis released today by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).
Rates rose in nine states and were unchanged in six. Further, the construction industry employed 206,000 more workers than in August 2016.Because these industry-specific rates are not seasonally adjusted, national and state-level unemployment rates are best evaluated on a year-over-year basis.Note that the data for these measures were collected before Hurricane Harvey struck Texas or Hurricane Irma struck Florida. Therefore these unemployment rates do not reflect the impact of the hurricanes on the U.S. economy or the states that suffered hurricane damage. Expect those effects to be evident in next month’s report.
“The August drop in construction unemployment rate for the nation and most states is a welcome sign that July’s upward blip in rates was temporary. However, we will need to keep an eye on the impact on construction from the recent hurricanes,” said Bernard M. Markstein, Ph.D., president and chief economist of Markstein Advisors, who conducted the analysis for ABC. “The workers for hurricane recovery will be drawn from a workforce already stretched thin from existing projects. In particular, there already is a shortage of skilled workers. The recovery process will re-emphasize the need to recruit young people to the industry and train them.
”From the beginning of the data series in 2000 through 2016, the monthly movement in the national NSA construction unemployment rate from July to August has been a decrease eight times, an increase eight times as well and unchanged once. This year, the rate decreased 0.2 percent from July. Among the states, 28 had decreases in their August estimated rate from July, 19 were up and three saw no change.
The Top Five States
The states with the lowest estimated NSA construction unemployment rates in order from lowest rate to highest were:
1. Idaho and North Dakota (tied), 1.9 percent
2. Colorado, 2 percent
3. Wyoming, 2.1 percent
4. Hawaii, 2.8 percent
Three states—Colorado, Idaho and North Dakota—were also among the top five in July. Idaho and North Dakota had the lowest To better understand the basis for calculating unemployment rates and what they measure, see the article Background on State Construction Unemployment Rates.
