Summary
Job losses in the nonresidential construction sector surged in June to 11,700, according to the July 2 employment report by the U.S. Labor Department. On a year-over-year basis, nonresidential building construction employment fell by 88,700, or 10.8 percent, to 734,600 (see graph below).
Residential building construction shed 6,800 jobs for the month and 136,400 from June 2008 as employment in this sector now stands at 700,900. Job losses for total private construction, which includes specialty trade contractors, were 79,000 from May to June, and 992,000 over the past twelve months.
Overall, national employment decreased by 467,000 from the previous month and 5,664,000 from June 2008. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, employment has declined by 6,460,000, or 4.7 percent. The nation’s unemployment rate now stands at 9.5 percent – a 26-year high.