According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Situation report, those in the construction industry may have plenty to look forward to in the coming months. Keep reading to learn more. If you are in an adjacent field, such as a disbursement company, Fund Control can help in many ways. Call now to learn more about our fund control software options.

Construction Unemployment Rates Are at All-Time Lows

While unemployment is not down across the board, it certainly is in the world of construction. In fact, seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for those in the construction industry dropped from 3.7% to 3.5% compared to August and September of 2018. This is particularly heartening because there was a zero reduction in the participation rate – it was 63.2% just as it was in August.

The Story is a Little Different When Seasonally Adjusted Basis is Not Used

However, the above used seasonally adjusted basis – if not seasonally adjusted (NSA) basis is used, then there are three big industrial sectors that have unemployment rates of less than 2% in the last month. These numbers are literally unheard of. They are:

• Mining, oil and gas extraction, and quarrying: 1.7%
• Government workers: 1.8%
• Financial activities: 1.9%

The total NSA unemployment rate in September also fell from 3.6% to 3.2%. May also saw a 3.2% construction jobless rate – the lowest we have seen in the last 100 years.

There’s Another Way to Look at These Numbers: Wage Growth

Low unemployment rates are great for those working within the construction industry but what does it mean if wages are the same? For all jobs in September, there was a growth of 2.9% hourly and 2.6% hourly for wages. Hourly construction workers saw a lower growth of 2.2% but those who worked weekly saw a much higher growth of 4.0%.

A closer look that considered “all jobs” except for the supervisors (i.e. bosses) showed an increase in 3.5% hourly and 3.1% weekly across all industries, with hourly construction workers who were not in supervisory capacities getting an increase of 2.3% hourly and 3.8% weekly.

We Can Help Keep Construction Projects on Track

One of the best ways Fund Control can help with all types of construction projects is to ensure that everyone can communicate with one another. We are proud of our fund control software that is useful to banks, disbursement companies, and many others. We welcome you to contact us at 800-625-5972 or info@eclsoftware.com if you are interested in a free demo.