Updated
Updated · woodworkingnetwork.com · Aug 14
Construction Adds 22,000 July Jobs as Nonresidential Hiring Drives Nearly 20,000
Updated
Updated · woodworkingnetwork.com · Aug 14

Construction Adds 22,000 July Jobs as Nonresidential Hiring Drives Nearly 20,000

3 articles · Updated · woodworkingnetwork.com · Aug 14

Summary

  • July construction payrolls rose by 22,000 after a 5,000 gain in June, with nonresidential construction supplying about 20,000 of the increase.
  • Residential construction added just 2,100 jobs—the first monthly gain in four months—but remains weak, down 44,200 from a year earlier in a 17th straight year-over-year decline.
  • The broader labor market softened as nonfarm payrolls fell 23,000, May and June gains were revised down by 103,000, and labor-force participation slipped to 61.4%, the lowest since early 2021.
  • Construction unemployment dropped to 4.6% from 6.2% in June, though it was still above 4.2% a year earlier, pointing to slightly softer trade labor conditions despite July's hiring.

Insights

Why did the U.S. unemployment rate drop to 4.1% even as the economy mysteriously lost 23,000 jobs in July?
What hidden tech boom is keeping the U.S. construction industry afloat while the rest of the labor market stalls?