Dive Brief:
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After 14 months of continued job growth in construction, the industry lost 1,000 positions in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the same time, unemployment in the sector fell to 9.5%, down 1.1% from last March.
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Gains in new jobs among nonresidential builders and specialty trades were offset by a dip in job creation by residential homebuilders and nonresidential firms that rely on public projects like highway construction.
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Associated Builders & Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu called Friday’s jobs report “a stunner.” A lackluster jobs report across industries showed the creation of just 126,000 jobs in March.
Dive Insight:
Most economists are blaming bad weather for the poor showing and have predicted the Federal Reserve will respond by holding off on an interest rate increase until September.
But Basu said blaming the snow is a “knee-jerk reaction.” He attributed some of the lag in job growth to the slowdown in oil production, whose impact, he predicted, will be temporary.
