ABC: Nonresidential construction adds jobs in April despite headwinds

The construction industry added 11,000 jobs in April, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has grown by 143,000 jobs, an increase of 1.7 percent. 

Nonresidential construction employment increased by 8,000 positions on net, with growth in 2 of the 3 subcategories. Nonresidential specialty trade added the most jobs, increasing by 4,900 positions, while nonresidential building added 3,600 jobs. Heavy and civil engineering lost 500 positions for the month.

The construction unemployment rate rose to 5.6 percent, while unemployment across all industries remained unchanged at 4.2 percent in April.

“The construction industry added a perfectly acceptable 11,000 jobs in April,” says ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Despite weak construction spending data for March and several economic headwinds, including high interest rates, tight lending standards and trade policy uncertainty, backlog remains sufficiently elevated to keep industry employment growing for the time being.

“That said, April is likely the last month of economic data largely unaffected by tariffs and tariff-related uncertainty.” 

The reference period for this most recent jobs report is the pay period through April 12, which may exclude staffing decisions or project cancellations or delays related to recent trade policy developments. 

While the economic outlook has worsened in recent weeks, Basu says, it remains unclear how the economy will respond in the coming months. For now, he describes contractor sentiment as “broadly optimistic,” as seen in ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, and industrywide staffing levels continue to expand.