The Quikrete Industry Dashboard: Employment updates

Job numbers are the latest updated metric in this week’s Quikrete Industry Dashboard.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 303,000 in March, and the unemployment rate changed little at 3.8%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on April 5. The unemployment rate has been within a range of 3.7% and 3.8% since August 2023.

While job gains occurred in health care and government, construction was another big mover.

Construction added 39,000 jobs in March, about double the average monthly gain of 19,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, employment increased in nonresidential specialty trade contractors (+16,000). 

While retailers added about 18,000 jobs in March, the gain was offset by job losses in building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers. The two industry retail sectors saw a loss of 10,000 jobs in April.

In March, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1-hour to 34.4 hours. In manufacturing, the average workweek was unchanged at 40.0 hours, and overtime edged down by 0.1 hour to 2.9 hours in March. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 33.9 hours.

Gasoline Alley
At fuel pumps, the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline moved up to $3.58 per gallon on April 5 compared to an average cost of $3.54 in the prior week.

The national average stood at $3.36 one month ago and $3.53 one year ago.

Diesel fuel averaged $4.045 per gallon nationally as of April 5 compared to an average price of $4.055 one month ago.