As we stated earlier this week, the employment numbers that came out this morning from the Bureau of Labor Statistics may be telling as to whether we are still recovering, stagnating or slipping back toward the edge of another recession. They are, at best, mixed. That means more uncertainty, less likelihood of more hiring and another month of sluggish activity – not so positive for the construction industry.
There were some new jobs created, but when we looked a little deeper, we found a problem. According to the BLS press release that came out at 8:30 this morning,
“Nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 103,000 in September, and the unemployment rate held at 9.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The increase in employment partially reflected the return to payrolls of about 45,000 telecommunications workers who had been on strike in August. In September, job gains occurred in professional and business services, health care, and construction. Government employment continued to trend down.”
There were some construction jobs created in the non-residential sector as the report states:
“Construction employment increased by 26,000 over the month, after showing little movement since February. The over-the-month gain was due to employment increases in the nonresidential construction industries, which includes heavy and civil construction. Mining employment continued to trend up in September.”
This indicates an uptick in heavy construction, possibly spurred by the Eagle Ford Shale play in South Texas, but no uptick in commercial building construction jobs, the sector that we watch more closely.
Still, there are 90.9% of the workforce who are employed and that is a good sign. Maybe next month as we say. In the meantime, we will continue to look for positive signs that we can pass along to help adjust your attitude and business.
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