Unemployment rate holds steady
For the second month in a row, the national unemployment rate held steady at an ultra low 3.7% in October.
The data released Friday morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics also shows total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 250,000 in October. Job gains occurred in health care, in manufacturing, in construction, and in transportation and warehousing, the bureau reported.
Construction employment rose by 30,000 in October, with nearly half of the gain occurring among residential specialty trade contractors (+14,000). Over the year, construction has added 330,000 jobs.
Employment in other major industries—including wholesale trade, retail trade, information, financial activities, and government—showed little change over the month.
The National Association of Home Builders pointed to monthly employment data released by the BLS Establishment Survey that indicates the number of residential construction jobs rose by 16,600 in October, more than three times of the 5,000 increase in September.
Not counting September’s unemployment rate, October’s rate is the lowest since 2001.
The NAHB also emphasized the following employment related stats:
The data released Friday morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics also shows total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 250,000 in October. Job gains occurred in health care, in manufacturing, in construction, and in transportation and warehousing, the bureau reported.
Construction employment rose by 30,000 in October, with nearly half of the gain occurring among residential specialty trade contractors (+14,000). Over the year, construction has added 330,000 jobs.
Employment in other major industries—including wholesale trade, retail trade, information, financial activities, and government—showed little change over the month.
The National Association of Home Builders pointed to monthly employment data released by the BLS Establishment Survey that indicates the number of residential construction jobs rose by 16,600 in October, more than three times of the 5,000 increase in September.
Not counting September’s unemployment rate, October’s rate is the lowest since 2001.
The NAHB also emphasized the following employment related stats:
- Residential construction employment now stands at 2.86 million in October. That includes 803,000 builders and 2.1 million residential specialty trade contractors.
- Over the last 12 months, home builders and remodelers have added 143,500 jobs on a net basis.
- Since the low point following the Great Recession, residential construction has gained 873,500 positions.
- In October, the unemployment rate for construction workers declined to 4.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis, from the 5.0% in September. The unemployment rate for the construction sector has been trending downwards since February 2010 and remains historically low.