ABC says construction unemployment lowers in June
The not seasonally adjusted national construction unemployment rate was down 2.6% in June 2021 from a year ago, according to a report from Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).
According to state-by-state analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, 45 states have lower unemployment rates over the same period a year ago.
While overall employment and construction employment have made significant improvements in the past year, the numbers are no not back to pre-pandemic levels, ABC said.
National NSA construction employment was up 233,000 from June 2020. But seasonally adjusted construction employment remained 238,000, or 3.1%, below its February 2020 peak, before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect the employment numbers. This number is above the national SA nonfarm payroll employment, which was 4.4% below its February 2020 peak as of June.
“The widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines and the economy’s bounce back are boosting the construction industry,” said Bernard M. Markstein, president and chief economist of Markstein Advisors, who conducted the analysis for ABC. “The strength of the economic recovery will be tested in coming months by the delta variant and as the outflow of funds from the American Rescue Plan Act starts to dry up.
Congress is working to address the nation’s long-standing need to repair and upgrade its infrastructure, and a qualified workforce will be necessary to get the infrastructure built. A skilled workforce shortage persists, however, Markstein said.
“If a commonsense, bipartisan infrastructure bill is enacted into law, the economy, the construction industry and the construction workforce will benefit,” he added.
The states with the lowest June 2021 estimated NSA construction unemployment rates in order from lowest to highest were:
- Nebraska, 1.4% (1)
- Idaho, 1.8% (2)
- Utah, 2% (3)
- Georgia, 2.7% (4)
- South Dakota, 2.9% (5)
Three of these states were in the top five in May 2021—Idaho, Nebraska and Utah. Nebraska, which had the lowest construction unemployment rate among the states, had its lowest June rate on record.
This is the fourth month in a row that the state has set an all-time low for the month. Idaho, with the second-lowest rate, also had its lowest June rate since June 2017 when it was 1.5%. Georgia, with the fourth-lowest rate, posted its lowest June rate on record.
The states with the highest June 2021 estimated NSA construction unemployment rates in order from lowest to highest were:
- California and West Virginia (tie) 11.3% (46)
- New York, 12.3% (48)
- New Mexico, 13.5% (49)
- New Jersey, 13.6% (50)
The same states were in the bottom five in May.