California’s Place in National Unemployment

Over the last 8 years, the construction industry has seen a steady decline in national unemployment rates. Starting with the disruption caused by the housing crisis and exacerbated by natural disasters in the Southern Atlantic States, the need for construction employees has taken several hits over the last few years, but many states have started to come back from the dip and California is one of them.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS), most states have been seeing a drop in unemployment rates. Unfortunately, these are not huge jumps, but steady progress. New housing demands in Colorado and Massachusetts have jumped them to the bottom five with new jobs turning up every day. On the other hand, nearby states such as Alabama and Pennsylvania have recorded some of the highest unemployment rates causing many in the construction industry to relocate in search of work.

But where does California rate in this gradual climb out of the unemployment pit? In a report by Associated Builders and Contractors, the Golden State ranks somewhere in the middle with a steady upswing of 1.3 percent.(April 2016-August 2016) Although these numbers are not seasonally adjusted, thereby compensating for fluctuations due to weather and temperature, they do reflect an accurately steady rise in California’s construction employment demand.

A quick look at Indeed.com showed many job listings that were less than a week since posting with over half of those being only several hours old. Listings in Craigslist Los Angeles alone had postings ranging from General Cabinet Installer in Moorpark to a Project Manager in West LA in just the last 10 days.

What does this mean for California contractors? Demand for workers often reflects contractor needs which, in turn, give a clue to how the industry is doing in general. When there is no need for new workers, it is a sure sign that new business is on the downturn and businesses will need to start laying off workers. California, on the other hand is showing an increasing need for labor; the beginning signs of unemployment recovery.

The multiple recessions of the last decade have hit just about every part of the United States labor in some way, however the construction industry is pulling out of it and on the rise. With every new job and new hire, California is helping to bring the unemployment rate down and, hopefully, will top out the country in employment in the near future, on the other hand is showing an increasing need for labor; the beginning signs of unemployment recovery is a sure thing.