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Construction Sector Offers Silver Lining in Disappointing Jobs Report
EXCERPT:
The economy added just 88,000 jobs in March, a disappointing reversal given solid gains in January and February, and well below the 193,000 new jobs economists predicted for the month.
But there is one sector that’s heating up, even as other industries suffer the side effects of sequestration and squabbles in Washington: residential construction.
The homebuilding industry, beaten down during the housing bust, is benefiting from the overall tight inventory of homes for sale and the rush of would-be homebuyers to take advantage of record-low mortgage rates. Housing starts—around 917,000 in February—are still much lower than the 1.5 million economists say is closer to normal, but still almost 30 percent above construction levels seen this time last year, fueling job creation in the industry.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, residential construction jobs increased almost 4 percent year over year, significantly faster job growth than the overall employment increase of about 1.4 percent.
The trend reflects “that housing is now a critical part of the economic recovery,” Trulia chief Economist Jed Kolko, wrote in a post Friday.
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http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/03/22/construction-firms-say-labor-is-harder-to-come-by
TITLE:
Construction Firms Say Labor is Harder to Come By
An industry trade group says there is increasing evidence of a labor shortage
EXCERPT:
Anyone who watches the job market closely knows that the construction sector has been weak in this recovery. Employment in construction is still down 25 percent from its pre-recession peak, and the industry has a 15.7 percent unemployment rate. So it came as something of a surprise when a trade association representing the construction industry announced that it was experiencing a growing labor shortage.
In its most recent survey of its members, the National Association of Home Builders found that labor shortages have grown across a variety of positions and professions since June 2012. For example, 38 percent of firms currently report “some shortage” of carpenters for rough work, up from 24 percent June 2012. Meanwhile, only 57 percent report no shortage, compared to 71 percent in June. And 23 percent reported some shortage of roofers, up from 14 percent in June 2012. A similar trend holds, to varying degrees, across many other construction-related occupations, including electricians, bricklayers, plumbers and workers in framing crews. While these figures may indicate a strengthening industry, they also could signal future constraints on growing firms looking for workers.
“It’s highest in categories of carpentry—rough, finished, framing—but the thing that really stands out is that the trend is just consistently upward,” says Paul Emrath, an economist at NAHB.
With a construction job market still reeling from the bursting housing bubble and subsequent recession, it seems counterintuitive that there should be a shortage of construction workers. Rather, one would think that all of those workers forced out of their jobs during the downturn would now be flooding firms with job applications.
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They are building more multi-unit residences to meet a growing rental market. Fewer people can qualify for home loans.