Dive Brief:

• The construction industry's unemployment rate was 9.4% during April, which is higher than the overall unemployment rate announced Friday, but is well below the April 2013 rate of 13.2%.
• The reduction came with the hiring of about 32,000 new construction workers last month, while employers were giving workers more hours as well.
• The employment gains comprised 13,100 workers in residential building and specialty trades and 18,600 among nonresidential building, specialty trades and and heavy and civil engineering companies.

Dive Insight:

A significant portion of the people hired are new to their positions because many of the people who made up the unemployed in the worst days of the recession are gone from the construction labor pool now. AGC leaders urged governments to support job training by helping schools, construction firms and trade groups get workers ready.