According to the Associated General Contractors of America and the latest survey the association has completed and released, more jobs in the construction industry were lost in April. The declining number of jobs in the sector of construction is likely related to the decreasing demand for construction projects. The survey conducted by the association used data provided by construction technology firm Procore. Data shows that the number of jobs in construction is deteriorating.
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Construction Industry Sinks by 975,000 Jobs in April
The association chief economist, Ken Simonson, claims that the construction industry is not immune to the economic damage brought by the pandemics of COVID-19 across the globe and in the US. According to the data from Procore, there are 975,000 fewer jobs in the industry of construction in the US, which may be the consequence of the sinking demand for construction projects that arrived with the virus fallout. As the economist claims, the loss of nearly 1 million jobs in construction represented nearly 13% of the employment rate in the industry from March to April. In a single year, the unemployment rate sank to reach 16.6% from 4.7% recorded back in April 2019. By far, the recorded decline in the unemployment rate in construction is the highest recorded.
Federal Help for Recovery in the Sector of Construction
As Simonson further claims, it is very difficult to predict recovery for the industry of construction in the present moment without the federal help. It is expected to see federal measures that would aid the recovery of construction. The industry is most certainly in need of safe harbor fixes and provisions, as well as infrastructure funding and Paycheck Protection Program guidance. Within the survey in which there were 800 participating construction firms, only 30% reported that their projects were halted by the government.
