Construction Industry is In the Clear for the Next Decade

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its projections of employment growth for the years 2002-2012 on February 11.

As an industry that seems to play by it?EUR??,,????'???s own economic rules when it comes to the wavy bumps of the general economy, construction hit record levels in 2003. The BLS projects little change in the trend, stating that ?EUR??,,????'??Construction is the only goods-producing sector in which employment is projected to grow.?EUR??,,????'??

In a service-based economy, this is nothing short of good news for the construction and landscape sectors. The BLS foresees total employment growing by 21.3 million jobs from 2002-2012, as compared to 20.7 million jobs in the last decade (1992-2002). This may be a higher number, but the population is also larger, translating to a 15% growth rate in the next decade. Last decade?EUR??,,????'???s job growth expanded at a rate of 17%.

As for construction, the BLS has forecasted a 15% growth in the industry alone. This means that the 7,292,000 jobs available in the field will increase to 8,388,000 jobs. Consequently, the number of jobs in installation, maintenance, and repair are projected to increase from 5,696,000 to 6,472,000 in number, a change of 13.6%. Architecture and engineering occupations are expected to increase 8.6%, from 2,587,000 jobs to 2,809,000.

While construction stands alone as the only prolific goods-producing occupation, it is listed in neither the ?EUR??,,????'??Ten Industries with the Fastest Wage and Salary Employment Growth?EUR??,,????'?? table, nor the ?EUR??,,????'??Ten Fastest Growing Occupations?EUR??,,????'?? table. These tables report mostly service and computer jobs that are expected to increase their work forces by 43% to nearly 68%. Construction may remain the chief of its own industry, but the related field of water, sewage, and other systems is listed as one of those top ten industries for wage and salary job growth. It?EUR??,,????'???s a small industry, employing 48,500 people, but is expected to grow 46.5% to a workforce of 71,000 employees by 2012.

The landscaping industry often hinges on the success of the construction industry. Residential and commercial building provides the work areas for many landscape architects and contractors. With the BLS projecting growth in the construction arena, the landscape industry can feel assured that their work will continue to increase as well.