A recent report by The Associated General Contractors of America found that employment in construction increased by about 26,000 jobs between August and September. Most of this increase was in residential construction jobs. The not great part of the report is that construction unemployment is up from 3.2% in September of 2019 to 7.1% in September this year. While it's not the historic numbers we saw in 2010, the trend is moving the wrong way, especially, considering the current COVID driven uncertainty and the time it will take to recover to a more normal construction volume. Another concern is that the biggest construction employment gains were in residential which is more volatile than some other construction sectors that are more stabile but have less fortunate construction jobs numbers. Any positive news is a good thing right now but residential gains this month may be quickly offset by potential COVID driven losses in the coming months.
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