Job gains slowed for the second straight month in December, with the residential construction job market exceeding pre-pandemic levels. After seven consecutive monthly increases, residential construction lost 4,100 jobs in December while non-residential construction employment rose by 27,000 jobs.

In December 2021, the unemployment rate for construction workers declined by one percentage point to 4.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. It is the lowest rate since February 2020. The unemployment rate for construction workers has been lower, after reaching 14.1 percent in April 2020, due to the pandemic housing demand impact.

 

74 percent of non-residential construction jobs lost in March and April 2020 have now been recovered. Residential construction employment hit 3.1 million in December with 886,000 builders and 2.2 million residential specialty trade contractors.

Six-month moving average for job gains for residential construction was 4,783/month. Over the previous 12 months, home builders and remodelers added 74,700 jobs on a net basis.

Meanwhile nonfarm payroll employment increased by 199,000 in December after a 249,000 gain in November according to the Employment Situation Summary, making it the smallest gain since January 2021.



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