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May 03, 2014

The construction sector has recovered with employment also returning to the industry. Reuters pic, May 3, 2014When the United States economy crashed in 2008, following the implosion of the housing market, Dave Klein's southern California construction company almost folded.

Overnight, he went from employing 40 construction workers to four. Some returned home to El Salvador, others to Mexico. Several left the state to find work in pork and chicken factories in the Midwest.

But in the past two months, Klein says, some of them have returned as he has started hiring again moves that reflect a recent trend in the US construction industry as the American economy continues to pick up steam.

"There is a little bit more money out there and there are a lot of apartments being built," Klein said. "So things are getting a little better. Some of these guys went into the restaurant industry, but they are coming back. Or friends of friends are."

The US construction industry saw its largest gain in jobs since the start of this year, and the highest number since 2009, according to preliminary figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics yesterday.

The construction sector added 32,000 jobs in April, the fourth straight month of gains over which 124,000 building site jobs have been created. The gains were part of an unexpectedly bright jobs report which saw the overall unemployment rate drop from 6.7% to 6.3% as US employers added 288,000 jobs in April, well above estimates.

The construction industry was obliterated in the wake of the housing crash. Of the 8.2 million jobs lost during the Great Recession, 2.3 million were in construction, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In April 2006, there were over 7.7 million construction jobs. By April 2011, the number was under 5.4 million. Now it is back up to 6 million, still a long way below the pre-recession boom, but on an upward tick.

Yet the demand in construction jobs is not just being met by former workers returning to the fold, according to company bosses and industry analysts. Many of these former workers have been lost forever, forcing companies to hire and train new, inexperienced employees.

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