Good things are happening in the construction industry. Virtually tied with leisure and hospitality for third-highest in terms of employment numbers behind private education and health services and the government, the industry added 8,000 jobs in the month of October, according to a November 2024 report from the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). This marks five straight monthly increases, despite the negative effects of recent severe weather.
“The job gains in construction occurred even though hurricanes in the Southeast probably dragged down hiring in previously fast-growing states,” said Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist.
The industry added 223,000 jobs over the past year—a 2.8% increase—and total employment numbers in construction reached 8,310,000 (seasonally adjusted) in October. Of these jobs, nonresidential contractors added 178,400 new hires while residential added 44,500.
Separate reporting from the government shows construction spending totaled $2.15 trillion dollars through September, a 4.6% increase from last year. The spending appears to be in the private and public works sectors over the past year, with significant increases in data center constructions, highway and street construction, and transportation. Multifamily housing and private nonresidential segments showed a decline through September.
Along with an increase in employment came an increase in pay. Average hourly earnings for both production and nonsupervisory construction employees rose to $36.23, a 4.5% increase. The raise in pay tops the 4.1% increase production workers in the private sector saw—a “wage premium” of 18.9% (a $5.75 per hour difference).
“Contractors are hiring and raising hourly pay at above-average rates in an effort to keep projects on track,” Simonson said.
And the good news continues. AGC officials are projecting an increase in employment opportunities as the nation recovers from hurricane-related damages. But the association also expects the industry to struggle in finding workers due to a lack of federal funding in construction education and training.
“Hurricane season will end, but labor shortages aren’t going to go away just because we turned a page on the calendar,” said Jeffrey Shoaf, AGC’s CEO.
