file_Analysis_unemployment_5_7_10

W ill Construction Wor kers Rebuild the E conomy?

Jobs losses in the construction industry that resulted from the housing market crash were acutely felt among Latino workers, who are disproportionately represented in construction. Latinos constituted 28.5% of all employed construction and extraction workers in 2009, but were only 14% of the total employed labor force.1 How is the construction industry faring as the economy begins to add jobs? Figure 1 shows that growth in construction employment is a more robust but newer trend than overall employment growth (nonfarm payroll employment). While overall employment has grown for five out of the six past months, growth in construction employment only began in March.

F igure 1.

10.0%

2.1%

2.7%

Apr-­�10

5.0%

Mar-­�10

5.7% 3.0%

0.0% -­�5.0% -­�10.0% -­�15.0% Nonfarm  Payroll  Employment -­�20.0%

Construction  Employment

Feb-­�10

Jan-­�10

Dec-­�09

Nov-­�09

Oct-­�09

Sep-­�09

Aug-­�09

Jul-­�09

Jun-­�09

May-­�09

Apr-­�09

Mar-­�09

Feb-­�09

-­�25.0% Jan-­�09

Monthly  Employment  Growth  (Annualized  Percent)

Construction  and  Overall  Employment  Growth January  2009  -­â€? April  2010 Â

Source: NCLR calculation using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ³'DWD 5HWULHYDO (PSOR\PHQW +RXUV DQG (DUQLQJV ´ Current E mployment Statistics. Washington, DC, http://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cesbtab1.htm (accessed April 2010), Table B-1.

The degree to which construction fuels economic recovery depends on many factors. When it comes to employment in residential building construction²which tends to employ a greater share of Hispanic workers and fell below nonresidential building construction in June 2008²a surplus housing stock may keep employers reluctant to hire (see Figure 2). However, incentives for homeowners to retrofit their homes to be more energy-

HIILFLHQW VXFK DV WKH Âł+RPH 6WDU (QHUJy Retrofit Act of 2010 (H.R. 5019), passed yesterday by the House of Representatives, could be good news for the residential construction industry, and for Latino workers.

F igure 2.

Building  Construction  Employment                              January  2000͜April  2010 1,200 Residential  Buildings Nonresidential  Buildings

Employment  (Thousands)

1,000 800 600 400 200 0 2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Year Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ³'DWD 5HWULHYDO Employment, +RXUV DQG (DUQLQJV ´ Current E mployment Statistics.

Washington, DC, http://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cesbtab1.htm (accessed April 2010), Table B-1.

1

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ³Employed and experienced unemployed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ´ Current Population Survey, Washington, DC, 2009, Table 10 (unpublished).