Road construction jobs surpass 2019 employment stats for June

Of the 224 major sectors of the economy, only 27 posted annual gains in the number of jobs in June – and one of those was transportation construction, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.

The sector just barely added more jobs in June versus June 2019. Highway, street and bridge contractors employed 284,400 workers in June, 600 more than in June 2019, ARTBA reports.

The latest June figures were also a boost of 13,700 jobs over May.

In all, May and June transportation construction employment rose .2 percent from June 2019.

ARTBA notes that other construction segments also saw increased job numbers between May and June, but the figures did not surpass 2019 numbers.

The overall construction unemployment rate for July is 8.9 percent. The industry saw a 4.5 percent drop in the number of employees in July compared to July 2019, ARTBA says.

The U.S. economy’s overall unemployment rate for July is 10.2 percent.

ARTBA notes that there is a one-month lag in transportation construction employment data versus general and construction industry employment data.