NC construction employment drops

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Construction employment in North Carolina dropped by 200 jobs during August, a 0.1 percent decline that placed it among 24 states with employment losses in the building sector last month, the Charlotte Business Journal reports.

The loss during August put the 12-month drop in construction employment for the state at 5,600 jobs, which leaves it ranked 37th nationally in construction-employment changes, with a 3.2 percent drop, according to data from The Associated General Contractors of America.

Nationwide, 22 states added construction jobs last month, and 26 have seen employment in the sector grow during the past 12 months.

“There is no clear pattern of improvement in construction employment, although the industry is no longer in free-fall,” reports Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist.

North Carolina’s construction-industry job losses last month are part of a broader rise in unemployment. On Friday, the N.C. Employment Security Commission said the state’s unemployment rate rose to 10.4 percent in August from 10.1 percent in July. A year earlier, the statewide jobless rate was 9.1 percent.

The N.C. economy gained a net 16,500 jobs last month, led by a 13,600-employee increase in the government sector, the ESC says.

But the number of unemployed N.C. residents grew by 11,747 during August, increasing to 468,140, the agency says.

Unemployment in the Charlotte region dipped to 11.2 percent in July from 11.3 percent in June. And Mecklenburg County’s jobless rate was 11.1 percent, down from 11.2 percent in June, according to the state ESC. Read More.

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