While October was a strong month for manufacturing jobs, construction and architecture and engineering jobs did better in September, according to the October jobs report released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The American economy overall added 214,000 nonfarm jobs last month, which is 42,000 less than the revised growth for September. (The Bureau frequently revises the initial numbers.) This growth number is 16,000 less jobs added than ADP and Moody’s Analytics reported on Wednesday. It’s also slightly less than what was expected, according to Reuters. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.8 percent, down from September’s 5.9 percent.
Construction added 12,000 jobs in October, which is 7,000 less than in September. Architectural and engineering services also fared better in September, adding 2,900 jobs last month. Manufacturing added 15,000 jobs, which is 6,000 more than in September.
October was a hard month for several of the construction sectors. Both the residential and nonresidential building construction sectors lost jobs in October, for a combined loss of 4,100 jobs in building construction. Heavy and civil engineering gained 5,500 jobs. Most of the positive job growth in construction came from the residential specialty trade contractors sector, which added 10,300 jobs in October.
Charts: Maggie Goldstone; Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
