Dive Brief:

• The latest federal jobs data say the construction industry put 32,000 more people to work last month, making 124,000 new jobs so far this year.
• While the numbers of people working in the industry are working their way toward pre-recession levels – 6 million workers now compared with 7.7 million in April 2006 – they are not just workers returning.
• Company owners and industry analysts say some workers are old hands, but companies often are hiring and having to train fresh faces – and hands – the skills needed to meet renewed demand.

Dive Insight:

Having to train new workers means contractors face delays in being able to put crews onto jobs and increased expenses for the training time. They have little choice, however. They want a piece of the recovery, and too many of the old faces are gone, either to other careers or to other countries.