“This is not good news. The pace of job loss in September was greater than the twelve-month average, which indicates that the nonresidential construction sector continues to take a beating,” said Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Chief Economist Anirban Basu.

“After several months of improvement in terms of reductions in the pace of job losses, September’s performance indicates that the labor market is no longer steadily improving,” said Basu. “That is problematic for a number of reasons. Because consumer confidence, in part, is so clearly impacted by employment and unemployment statistics, the reality now is that the U.S. economy has moved one step closer to the inevitable – double-digit unemployment.

“Many economists had predicted that the pace of job loss in September would be less than 200,000. But for those of us who are engaged in consulting and speak on a daily basis to employers, this appeared excessively optimistic,” said Basu. “Many nonresidential and residential contractors have been hanging on financially, but are now giving up because the pace of economic recovery has simply not been sufficiently brisk.

“The implication of today’s report is that construction employment is not poised to recover anytime soon,” said Basu. “Though construction clearly benefits from the addition of infrastructure monies as part of February’s stimulus package, this financial assistance does not appear to be enough to offset the persistent tight credit market and the lack of demand for new retail, lodging, office and other space.”