The nonresidential construction sector actually grew in March, while the residential construction sector lost jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) organization. National construction employment in March overall was generally unchanged with 6,000 net new jobs added on a seasonally adjusted basis.  Nonresidential construction added 13,300 net new jobs and the residential sector lost 7,600 net jobs.

“While today’s jobs report will be viewed primarily as a disappointment, nonresidential construction remains a bright spot, adding 13,000 jobs,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. This is good given March’s colder weather, said Basu, but is actually slower than the first two months of the year, when there was an average of 29,100 net new jobs each month.

Basu believes that because the nation’s unemployment rate is only 4.5 percent currently, skilled worker shortage is likely to become more severe as the year proceeds and that the average contractor can anticipate sharper compensation cost increases. This is particularly true as firms who are securing new work race to put together their project teams.

According to Basu, construction employment still has economic health as year-over-year total construction employment outpaced the overall economy, by increasing 2.6 percent from March 2016 as compared to the general expansion of 1.5 percent. This shows that it has strong job potential, especially in particular nonresidential fields.

“A number of nonresidential segments performed particularly well from the perspective of job creation,” said Basu. “These included specialty trade contractors, who remained busy working on commercial construction projects, and heavy and civil engineering, which suggests a pickup in highway and street spending.”

The construction industry unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percent in March and is now at 8.4 percent. The national general unemployment rate fell by 0.2 percent.