Construction experienced a global gain of estimated jobs of 13,000 in March, according to the last monthly monthly report of the Office of Labor Statistics, but economists in the industry reacted with the concern that the tariffs announced on April 2 by President Trump would stop the growth of industry employment in the coming months.
Although the latest monthly data is described for the first time as a “ report of jobs perfectly up to ”, the economist of associated builders and contractors Anirban Basu stated through the press release that “ March labor market data is a minor concern in the light of the rates that were announced on April 2.What amount of tax hikes will reduce the activity of the construction due to the increase in the activity due to the increase of the costs due to the rise of At first, the confidence of the business and the possibility of being the rhythms of interest. “
Similarly, Ken Simonson, an economist in chief of the general associated contractors of America, appreciated the positive growth of jobs, emphasizing that “contractors added employees in a faster clip than other sectors in March, as the construction of construction workers exceeded salaries for global private production workers.”
“However,” Simonson added, “as new rates and retaliation measures in foreign countries come into force, construction costs will increase and suspend projects, representing a threat to employment.”
Basu also said that the construction contracting rate began in the year, commented: “With the downward reviews of January and February numbers, the industry added only 8,000 jobs per month during the first quarter of 2025. The construction of construction has increased only 1.8% since March 2024, the slowest growth in four years.”
The work numbers
In general, the occupation of the construction of March reached 8,313,000, tightly adjusted, an increase of 13,000 from February, according to BLS.
Building contractors added 2,700 positions in general, the result that residential contractors hire approximately 3,100 new employees, while contractors of non -residential buildings reported a decrease of 400 positions.
In the meantime, specialized trade contractors added approximately 6,400 jobs in March. However, it was a month up for specialized trades, with Non -residential companies that add 19,300 jobs, and residential specialized contractors spilled 12,900 positions.
Completing the data, BLS reported that heavy and civilian construction companies added about 3,400 estimated positions.
