The construction industry added 44,000 jobs on net in October, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall, the industry has recovered 963,000, or 86.5%, of the jobs lost during earlier stages of the pandemic. Nonresidential construction employment increased by 33,000 positions on net, with all three subcategories showing gains for the month: Nonresidential specialty trade contractors and heavy and civil engineering added 19,300 and 12,100 jobs, respectively, while nonresidential building employment rose by 1,600 positions. The construction unemployment rate decreased to 4.0% in October. (Unemployment across all industries fell from 4.8% in September to 4.6% last month.)

“After two months of disappointment, the U.S. employment market bounced back, adding 33,000 nonresidential construction jobs in October in the process,” says ABC chief economist Anirban Basu. “Many economists believed that seasonal adjustments artificially suppressed statistical employment growth in September. That appears to have been correct. Nonetheless, employers continue to report difficulty filling available positions and job growth has slowed significantly since the initial periods of the economic recovery. The expectation is that labor force participation will continue to pick up going forward, albeit gradually.”

And Florida is leading the charge: American Surveyor reports that “Associated Builders and Contractors today released its seventh annual Merit Shop Scorecard, a ranking based on state policies and programs that encourage workforce development, grow a career and technical education, strengthen careers in construction and advocate for fair and open competition for taxpayer-funded construction projects.” Florida grabbed the top spot in the rankings.