SummaryOn April 4, 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released employment data for March and the data are sobering. Nonresidential construction employment is now clearly in decline, both from monthly and year-over-year perspectives. Nonresidential construction employment declined by 20,500 jobs in March compared to the prior month and is now down by 70,500 jobs over the past 12 months.
On a year-over-year basis, nonresidential building employment (please see graph) turned negative beginning in December 2007. By contrast, employment in residential building construction turned negative precisely one year earlier and the number of jobs supported by residential construction activities overall declined by 31,000 jobs in March on a monthly basis and by 285,500 jobs year-over-year. Total construction employment was down by 51,000 jobs on a monthly basis and down by 356,000 jobs compared to March 2007.
Job declines within nonresidential construction are broad-based. Industrial building construction generated a 5,900 employment decline on a monthly basis while commercial building employment decreased by 5,100 jobs. Heavy and civil construction employment was down by 35,000 jobs and is positioned to continue to decline given the state of various government budgets.
Of course, construction is not alone in generating job declines among major U.S. sectors. Total U.S. nonfarm employment was down by 80,000 jobs in March, the worst one-month performance in five years. Construction, manufacturing, trade/transportation/utilities, information, finance and professional and business services all reported negative growth in March compared to February.