Construction employment is expected to increase by 380,100 jobs over the next decade and post a modest annual growth rate over that period, according to a new forecast by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The bureau’s annual employment projections report, released Aug. 29, says the compound annual growth rate for construction in the period 2023-2033 will be 0.5 percent. This compares to a rate of 0.1% for all industries.
The 0.5 percent figure is also more than triple the 0.1 percent construction rate the BLS projected in its report released last year, said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America , in comments first published in AGC’s weekly Data DIGest newsletter. Last year’s forecast applied to the period 2022-2032.
The new report also includes detailed breakdowns by category of construction work. BLS projects an employment increase of 238,900, or 6.3%, during 2023-2033 for construction workers.
“The new projections underscore the urgency of government support for vocational and technical education and training programs that will prepare workers to fill these opportunities,” Simonson said in a statement.
Clean energy-related jobs are well represented on the BLS report’s list of the ten fastest growing occupations. The No. 1 occupation is wind turbine service technician, a field projected to grow 60.1% from 2023-2033. In second place, photovoltaic solar installers, with a projected gain of 48%.
That matches data from a recent US Department of Energy report on the strong outlook for energy-related construction jobs.
BLS attributes the upbeat projections to higher demand for electricity from more electric vehicles and data centers, but cautions that while “growing rapidly, the two occupations are projected to add fewer than 20,000 jobs combined.”
Overall, the BLS projects that the U.S. economy will gain 6.7 million jobs between 2023 and 2033.
