Home building employment withstood the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the National Association of Home Builders reported Monday.
From May through December, 472,500 residential construction jobs were created – more than offsetting the 456,800 such jobs that were lost in March and April due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Residential construction jobs surged by 22,700 in December.
Comparatively, non-residential construction recovered just 61 percent of the jobs that were lost in March and April.
Residential construction employment now stands at 3.0 million in December, including 848,000 builders and 2.1 million residential specialty trade contractors, NAHB reported.
The six-month moving average of job gains for residential construction was 27,000 a month. Over the last 12 months, home builders and remodelers added 57,200 jobs on a net basis. Since the low point following the Great Recession, residential construction has gained 999,300 positions, NAHB reported.