Construction adds 11,000 jobs in May; unemployment falls again

Updated Jun 5, 2017
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The U.S. construction industry added 11,000 jobs in May, according to preliminary data from the Labor Department.

The industry now employs 6.881 million Americans, an increase of 3 percent over the May 2016 figure.

The May report also revised the April employment figure downward from the previously reported 6.877 million to 6.870 million. The revision makes what was initially estimated to be a monthly increase of 5,000 jobs for the industry into a loss of about 1,000.

Meanwhile, the industry’s unemployment rate fell for a fourth straight month from 6.3 percent to 5.3 percent.

The U.S. economy added 138,000 jobs in May while the country’s unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent. It’s the lowest unemployment rate the country has seen in 16 years.