Payroll construction employment & earnings nyc 2000 to present
Published May 2009
NYC Construction Industry Loses Nearly 20,000 Jobs From August 2008 Peak;
First Quarter 2009 Construction Employment Down 9.7 Percent from 2008
Modest Gains for the Month of March Ends Six Month Losing Streak
Construction Employment
Employment in New York City’s construction industry fell to 117,000 in March 2009, a loss of 19,900 construction jobs since August 2008, when overall employment hit a peak of 136,900.
Since that August 2008 peak, the construction industry experienced six consecutive months of falling employment numbers. The streak ended in March, however, when employment registered a modest 2,700 increase over February’s figure of 114,300 jobs.
An analysis of recent, year-over-year numbers provides evidence that declines are attributable to more than seasonal factors.
In the first quarter of 2009, construction employment averaged 115,800 jobs, down 9.7 percent from the first quarter of 2008 when overall employment reached 128,300. In 2007, average employment for the first quarter was 118,500.
“Monthly employment generally peaks each year during the summer and early fall, when the weather is usually warmer and drier. So it’s not surprising to see first quarter numbers come in relatively low,” notes New York Building Congress President Richard T. Anderson. “However, our analysis indicates an alarming and accelerating rate of decline that set in over the fall and winter.”
He added, “What started as a trickle 1,600 jobs lost between August and September turned into an avalanche as more than 8,000 industry jobs disappeared between December and January. It is heartening to see that overall employment increased by 1,000 jobs between January and March. Does this mean we’ve already hit the bottom or is this just a brief pause in the cycle? That is something we will be paying close attention to in the coming months.”
2008 Earnings
Average earnings for all New York City construction workers topped $68,000 in 2008, up from $65,000 in 2007 and $61,000 in 2006. In 2003, earnings for construction workers in all sectors averaged $57,500.
