May 19, 2010

Construction jobs build hope of sustainable recovery

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For most of the last two years, when there was news of yet another bad report of job losses, it was a safe bet that the leading industries were construction and manufacturing. After the housing bubble burst in 2007 and building projects everywhere ground to a halt, construction and manufacturing firms began shedding jobs by the thousands.

That dreary context made yesterday's news from the Washington Employment Security Department (ESD) such a welcome surprise around the Seattle area. According to the state data for April, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 9.5 percent to 9.2 percent - the first time the number has shrunk, month-to-month, in three years. Even more amazing, construction and manufacturing--with net increases of 1,400 and 1,200 jobs, respectively--were two of the industries that led the surge.

Most of the construction growth came from the "specialty trade contractor industry," which includes plumbers and electricians. Growth in this area, which helped offset continued losses in the building sector, is especially encouraging because it suggests that more people are willing to make repairs and upgrades to existing houses. Could this trend indicate a greater willingness of the public to start spending again?

"The turnaround in construction is particularly surprising," read the ESD's executive summary of the latest jobs report. "Before April, the sector had monthly job losses in 25 of the last 26 months. Since the official beginning of the recession in December 2007, the state has lost 64,700 construction jobs, or nearly a third of its employment."

While job gains have been reported several times in 2010--adding up to 14,800 new jobs since January--they were never enough to nudge the unemployment rate down, as more out-of-work people began to re-enter the workforce. This time, however, the net gain of 5,800 jobs last month finally put an appreciable dent in the state's jobless rate. Locally, the trend played out in a similar fashion, with the Seattle metro area reporting a dip from 8.6 percent to 8.5 percent unemployment from March to April.

Other sectors that showed growth included leisure and hospitality (1,800 more jobs); retail (1,300) and information (500). Government also showed an increase of 1,600 new jobs, but most of them are temporary jobs for the U.S. census.

There have been many hints that the job market may have finally turned the corner in this region, but I think this may be the best news we've seen in years. A robust economic recovery is based on a return of confidence, more than anything else, and nothing indicates confidence like a returning interest in real estate development.

"I'm pleased to see growth in the construction and manufacturing sectors, which suffered the biggest losses in the recession," summed up ESD Commissioner Karen Lee. "We need those good-paying jobs to come back."

Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.

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construction, manufacturing, unemployment

2 Comments

phil on May 22, 2010 7:30 AM | Reply

just curious were all these plumbers and electricians are working at. i am plumber who has been laid off for four months now and i haven't seen more than six or seven real plumbing jobs offers, and i have searched state wide in all my searches. and the only place construction wise i seen real growth is in eastern wa so you might want to check your facts again. and also the reason unemployment is going down is that people are running out of unemployment, but nobody tells us that. sincerely a laid off plumber

Seattle Plumber on September 5, 2012 8:06 AM | Reply

Before you invite anybody in your home it is all the time vital to know more about him/her so make sure that you carefully examine whether the plumber is a member of the BBB and if they have any complaints on him. If you feel to be uncomfortable with the plumber, you'll be able to still deny their services. Deal with the information and make sure that they're trustworthy.

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