Construction sheds jobs in Sept.; rents, vacancies improve

Construction employment fell by 21,000 (0.4 percent), seasonally adjusted, in September to 5,604,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday [Oct. 8]. The industry has added only 19,000 jobs on net since reaching a low in February, whereas the overall private sector has added jobs for nine straight months. Over the past 12 months, the industry has shed 210,000 employees (3.6 percent). Among the five BLS categories of construction, one only has added jobs in the last year: 8,500 (1.0 percent) in heavy and civil engineering construction, the segment most helped by stimulus, military base realignment and New Orleans flood-prevention funding, according to an Oct. 11 Data DIGest report.

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