Construction Sector Adds 30,000 Jobs Between November and December

Construction employers added 30,000 jobs in December while the industry's unemployment rate hit 13.5 percent, according to an analysis of new federal data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that the monthly increase was the largest in nearly two years, driven primarily by increases in private sector demand for construction. "Resurgent demand for new housing construction and modest growth in private commercial construction are helping create some new construction jobs," said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. "Now that the threat of the fiscal cliff has been, temporarily, relieved, construction employment should continue to slowly rise in 2013." Read the full press release here. The news was covered by The Washington Post, ENR, and the Pennsylvania Herald.