In BLS’s report for April 2023, job increases held steady at 258,000 new positions according to the latest figures. (Comfortably above the 130-150,000 estimated increase needed on a monthly basis to stay-up with growing demographics). The non-seasonally adjusted construction unemployment slipped to 4.1 percent in April, consistent with the expanding seasonal spring work trends. [The new figure is down 1.5 basis points vs. March; while also down 0.5 points from last April 2022]. Construction employment remained steady for the month in line with the prior 6 months.

General unemployment slide another 0.1 to 3.4 percent. (“Unemployed persons” went down to 5.7 million per the government count). The “labor force participation rate” stayed at 62.6 percent. [NOTE: The “labor force participation” rate “typically” works inversely to the overall unemployment figures. Meaning: as it deteriorates/gets worse or smaller, it actually is counted as improving unemployment (i.e., people leaving the workforce are no longer counted as unemployed by the DOL). The “employment to population ratio” also remained stagnant at 60.4 percent. [Both measures haven’t reached their pre-Covid levels yet; if people were actually seeking jobs, the unemployment rate would be approximately 5.0% ]. Average hourly earnings continues to increase, now standing at $28.62 for private sector production and nonsupervisory employees.     SEE Workforce Statistics Chart

In the latest report for March 2023, job increases moderated slowing-down to 236,000 new positions according to the latest Labor Department figures. (Still above the 130-150,000 estimated increase needed on a monthly basis to stay-up with growing demographics). The non-seasonally adjusted construction unemployment stood at 5.6 percent in March, consistent with seasonal spring work trends. [The new figure is down 1.0 basis points vs. Feb.; while also down 0.4 points from last March 2022]. Construction employment remained steady for the month in line with the prior 6 months.

General unemployment sank 0.1 to 3.5 percent. (“Unemployed persons” went down to 5.8 million per the government count). The “labor force participation rate” improved by 0.1 to 62.6 percent. [NOTE: The “labor force participation” rate “typically” works inversely to the overall unemployment figures. Meaning: as it deteriorates/gets worse or smaller, it actually is counted as improving unemployment (i.e., people leaving the workforce are no longer counted as unemployed by the DOL). The “employment to population ratio” experienced a small increase to 60.4 percent. [Both measures haven’t reached their pre-Covid levels yet, if people were actually seeking jobs, the unemployment rate would be approximately 5.0% ]. Average hourly earnings continues to increase, now standing at $28.50 for private sector production and nonsupervisory employees. 

SEE Workforce Statistics Chart   

February 2023 job increases slowed to 311,000 new positions according to the latest Labor Department figures. (Still well above the 130-150,000 estimated increase needed on a monthly basis to stay-up with growing demographics). The non-seasonally adjusted construction unemployment stood at 6.6 percent in February, consistent with seasonal work trends. [The new figure is down a modest 0.3 basis points vs. Jan. ‘23 level; while only down 0.1 points from last February 2022]. Construction employment grew by 24,000 in February, in line with the average monthly growth of 20,000 over the prior 6 months.

The general unemployment rose 0.2 to 3.6 percent. (“Unemployed persons” went up to 5.9million per the government count). The “labor force participation rate” improved by 0.1 to 62.5 percent. [NOTE: The “labor force participation” rate “typically” works inversely to the overall unemployment figures. Meaning: as it deteriorates/gets worse or smaller, it actually is counted as improving unemployment (i.e., people leaving the workforce are no longer counted as unemployed by the DOL). The “employment to population ratio” experienced no change staying at 60.2 percent. [Both measures haven’t reached their pre-Covid levels yet]. Average hourly earnings have increased, now standing at $28.42 for private sector production and nonsupervisory employees.

SEE Workforce Statistics Chart   

January 2023 job numbers increased with a strong 517,000 new positions according to the latest Labor Department figures. (Well above the 130-150,000 estimated increase needed on a monthly basis to stay-up with growing demographics). The non-seasonally adjusted construction unemployment jumped to 6.9 percent in January, consistent with seasonal work trends. [The new figure is up a fairly large 2.5 basis points vs. Dec. ‘22 level; while being down by 0.2 points from last January 2022]. Construction added 25,000 jobs in January, reflecting an employment gain in specialty trade contractors (+22,000). On average, employment in the construction industry grew by 22,000 per month in 2022..

The general unemployment fell 0.1 to 3.4 percent. (“Unemployed persons” stayed at 5.7 million per the government count). The “labor force participation rate” improved by 0.1 to 62.4 percent. [NOTE: The “labor force participation” rate “typically” works inversely to the overall unemployment figures. Meaning: as it deteriorates/gets worse or smaller, it actually is counted as improving unemployment (i.e., people leaving the workforce are no longer counted as unemployed by the DOL). The “employment to population ratio” experienced a small increase to 60.2 percent. [Both measures haven’t reached their pre-Covid levels yet]. Average hourly earnings have increased, now standing at $28.26 for private sector production and nonsupervisory employees. 

See Workforce Statistics Chart

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022 (see, table below), according to the "advance" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The positive number was driven in part by the start of the new federal fiscal year spending and the traditional holiday consumer season. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 3.2 percent. The GDP estimate released today is based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency. The "second" estimate for the fourth quarter, based on more complete data, will be released on February 23, 2023.  For the year, with two down quarters and now two up ones, the total GDP for the year is less than 2.0 percent.

December job numbers increased some 223,000 new positions according to the latest Labor Department figures. (Above the 130-150,000 estimated increase needed on a monthly basis to stay-up with growing demographics). The non-seasonally adjusted construction unemployment was 4.4 percent in December, consistent with seasonal work trends. [The new figure is up 0.5 basis points vs. Nov. ‘22 level; while being down by 0.6 points from last December 2021]. Employment in construction increased by 28,000 in December, as specialty trade contractors added 17,000 jobs; resulting in an average of 19,000 per month in 2022, little different than the average of 16,000 per month in 2021.

The general unemployment fell 0.2 to 3.5 percent. (“Unemployed persons” was reported at 5.7 million per the government count). The “labor force participation rate” improved to 62.3 percent. [NOTE: The “labor force participation” rate “typically” works inversely to the overall unemployment figures. Meaning: as it deteriorates/gets worse or smaller, it actually is counted as improving unemployment (i.e., people leaving the workforce are no longer counted as unemployed by the DOL). The “employment to population ratio” experienced a small increase to 60.1 percent. [Both measures haven’t reached their pre-Covid levels yet]. Average hourly earnings have stalled after months of steady rises, now standing at $28.07 for private sector production and nonsupervisory employees. 

SEE Workforce Statistics Chart.

November job numbers increased some 263,000 new positions according to the latest Labor Department figures. (Well above the 130-150,000 estimated increase needed on a monthly basis to stay-up with growing demographics). The non-seasonally adjusted construction unemployment was 3.9 percent in November, consistent with seasonal work trends. [The new figure is up 0. basis points vs. Oct. ‘22 level; while being down by 1.8 points from last November 2021]. Construction employment continued to trend up in November (+20,000), with nonresidential building adding 8,000 jobs. Construction has added an average of 19,000 jobs per month thus far this year, little different from the 2021 average of 16,000 per month.     

The general unemployment remained at 3.7 percent. (“Unemployed persons” was reported at 6.0 million per the government count). The “labor force participation rate” was continued its slide over the last three months to 62.1 percent. [NOTE: The “labor force participation” rate “typically” works inversely to the overall unemployment figures. Meaning: as it deteriorates/gets worse or smaller, it actually is counted as improving unemployment (i.e., people leaving the workforce are no longer counted as unemployed by the DOL). The “employment to population ratio” experienced little changed at 59.9 percent. [Both measures haven’t reached their pre-Covid levels yet]. Average hourly earnings continued their long steady incremental climb, now standing at $28.10 for private sector production and nonsupervisory employees. 

SEE Workforce Statistics Chart

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.6 percent in the third quarter of 2022 (see, Table), according to the "advance" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second quarter, real GDP decreased 0.6 percent. The GDP estimate released today is based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency. Most of the positive private sector growth occurred in the transportation sector, buoyed by summer vacation travel and some normalcy after being hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and lingering shutdowns.  The "second" estimate for the third quarter, based on more complete data, will be released on November 30, 2022.

August job numbers tapered off increasing some 315,000 new positions down over 200K from July, according the latest Labor Department figures. (This is still above the 130-150,000 estimated increase needed on a monthly basis to stay-up with growing demographics). The non-seasonally adjusted construction unemployment went up to 3.9 percent in August, consistent with seasonal work trends. [The new figure is up 0.4 basis points vs. July ‘22 level; while being down by 0.7 points from last August 2021]. Employment in construction began to wane, down by 60,000 in August from last month’s numbers.    

The general unemployment increased 0.2 to 3.7 percent. (“Unemployed persons” was up 0.3 to 6.0 million per the government count). The “labor force participation rate” rose three tenths to 62.4 percent. [NOTE: The “labor force participation” rate “typically” works inversely to the overall unemployment figures. Meaning: as it deteriorates/gets worse or smaller, it actually is counted as improving unemployment (i.e., people leaving the workforce are no longer counted as unemployed by the DOL). The “employment to population ratio” experienced a slight increase of 0.1 to 60.1 percent. Average hourly earnings continued their long steady incremental climb, now standing at $27.68 for private sector production and nonsupervisory employees. 

SEE Workforce Statistics Chart for details.

July job numbers continued their upward trend with a sizable move of 528,000 new positions according to the latest Labor Department figures. (This is more than 3.0x above the 130-150,000 estimated increase needed on a monthly basis to stay-up with growing demographics). The non-seasonally adjusted construction unemployment dropped to 3.5 percent in July, consistent seasonal work while matching the general unemployment percentage. [The new figure is down 0.2 basis points vs. June ‘22 level; while being down by 2.6 points from the pandemic/shutdown impacted 6.1% figure of last July 2021]. Employment in construction increased by 32,000 in July, as specialty trade contractors added 22,000 jobs. Construction overall employment is now 82,000 higher than in February 2020.   

The general unemployment slipped to 3.5 percent. (“Unemployed persons” was 5.7 million per the government count). The “labor force participation rate” slipped one tenth to 62.1 percent. [NOTE: The “labor force participation” rate “typically” works inversely to the overall unemployment figures. Meaning: as it deteriorates/gets worse or smaller, it actually is counted as improving unemployment (i.e., people leaving the workforce are no longer counted as unemployed by the DOL). The “employment to population ratio” experienced a slight increase of 0.1 to 60.0 percent. Average hourly earnings continued their long steady incremental climb, now standing at $27.57 for private sector production and nonsupervisory employees. 

SEE the Workforce Statistics Chart