Latest BLS Report Reveals Construction Job Growth for December

Industry experts forecast continued growth in 2016

Latest BLS Report Reveals Construction Job Growth for December According to the latest preliminary numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which were released on January 8, the construction industry is continuing its trend of slowly but steadily chipping away at its high jobless rate, which has plagued the industry since the Great Recession.

In December, the construction jobless rate continued its year-over-year improvement, decreasing from last year’s 8.3 percent to 7.5 percent after about 45,000 jobs were added. This brings the construction jobless rate closer to the overall unemployment rate of 5 percent.

Building and Planning Positions Added

The jobs added in December came mostly from new work for specialty trade contractors. These jobs accounted for 29,400 of the total 45,000 jobs added. Building construction offered 10,100 new opportunities and heavy civil engineering grew by 4,800 new jobs.

Also of interest are the numbers for architectural and engineering services, which the BLS tracks as a separate category from construction. 4,800 new jobs were added here in December, which more than compensated for the 2,900 lost in November. The growth here should be encouraging to construction professionals as more designers means more projects that will eventually come down the pipeline to builders.

Experts Forecast More Growth

According to the chief economist of the Associated General Contractors of America, we can expect to see growth in construction jobs continuing through 2016. The fact that in a recent survey 71 percent of construction firms told the AGCA that they plan to hire more workers this year supports his opinion.

Expect More than a Return to the Status Quo

For the construction industry as well as many other sectors of the economy, the road to economic recovery has been slow. Many people seem to be focused on regaining lost ground and getting back to where they were pre-recession, rather than pursuing more dramatic growth.

Don’t accept this attitude for your company!

Regardless of the economic climate, there is always the potential to improve your company with internal changes. This is especially true when it comes to embracing technological change.

One change we suggest making if you have not already is to get all your construction management tasks into one computer system. Our Just Do It Once platform can make it happen. This software suite not only eliminates the inefficiencies and waste associated with double-entry of all kinds of data relevant to construction management and administration. It also facilitates accurate real-time sharing of data between stakeholders via secure internet portal for better collaboration and oversight.

If you would like to see our software in action, please contact us for a free personalized online demo.