The United States Department of Labor was able to see growth in an industry that hasn’t seen such a rise in nearly 10 years: construction.
In February 2017, construction employment increased by 58,000. Over the last six months, 177,000 jobs have been added. The rise was seen in specialty trade contractors (+36,000) and in heavy and civil engineering construction (+15,000).
Specialty trade contractors are positions that require the performance of very specific activities such as site preparation, pouring concrete, plumbing or electrical work. These kind of contractors are not responsible for an entire construction project.
Heavy and civil engineers do not usually work on buildings or high rises. These construction positions take on jobs that help create the infrastructure of our country. Highways, bridges and dams are some typical projects. The work done may be new or involve maintenance, repairs, additions or alterations.
With the current administration proposing a $1 trillion to go toward infrastructure, these construction positions—and others like them—will be in high demand. Experts who keep an eye on industry trends speculate that the recent uptick in construction jobs could signal a better-than-predicted increase for such positions. This is very encouraging for job seekers in this industry, especially since Ian Shepherdson, chief economist of Pantheon Macroeconomics, raised his forecast for the Department of Labor’s overall forecast from 200,000 to 250,000 job gains after learning of the growth in February.
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