US’ construction industry’s employment drops by 15,000 jobs in March

Employment in the US’ construction industry declined in March, as the sector lost 15,000 jobs.

This follows the 65,000 new positions that opened in the previous month, which was a 4,000 job increase on January’s recorded 61,000 new jobs.

Year-on-year, March noted an additional 228,000 jobs in the construction industry in America.

However, the non-residential sector saw a loss 8,200 jobs – 54.6% of the nation’s total.

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Within the sector, the non-residential building subsector saw an additional 2,200 jobs created, whilst the heavy engineering subsector lost 3,600 jobs and the non-residential speciality trade contractors subsector recorded a job decline of 6,800.

The 7.4% unemployment rate in March this year was the lowest the month had ever recorded, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.

It is anticipated that the decline in jobs could be liked to the Trump administration’s new trade policies and the uncertainty surrounding them, argue Anirban Basu, Chief Economist at Associated Builders and Contractors.

The economist suggested that the construction industry is more sensitive to policies affecting confidence due to its connections with financing risks and longer completion times.