Construction Jobs Rising

Construction firms employed 5.78 million people in February, a gain of 48,000 jobs from January and 140,000 jobs year-over-year. The industry unemployment rate, which is not seasonally adjusted and is usually high in February, fell from 17.1 percent in February 2012 to 15.7 percent last month.

Construction employment increased for the ninth consecutive month in February, according to a March 8 Labor Department report, improving with the job numbers of the larger economy and exceeding industry expectations. Although construction unemployment remains high at 15.7 percent, more people are working in the industry than at any point in the last three and a half years.

''With construction employment increasing by the largest amount for a single month in nearly six years, the steady improvement in construction hiring is particularly encouraging,'' said Ken Simonson, the Associated General Contractors of America's chief economist.

Both residential and nonresidential construction added jobs for the month and year. Residential construction added 19,400 jobs in February and 64,200 (3.1 percent) over 12 months. Nonresidential construction expanded by 29,000 employees in February and 75,700 (2.1 percent) over the year-ago level.

''The job gains are coming from every part of the construction industry and while the sector's unemployment rate remains stubbornly high, it is heading in the right direction,'' Simonson said.