US construction employment fell -2.3% in March

Employment in the US construction industry was down -2.3%, or 147300 jobs in March compared to February, according to provisional Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers. Construction industry employment in March stood at 6.38 million jobs - down -13.2% or 973000 jobs year-on-year.

The biggest monthly fall was seen in the state of Montana, where there was a -5.1% drop in construction jobs from February to March. In absolute terms, the biggest loss was in Texas, where 18800 construction jobs were lost in March - a -3.0% fall.

Year-on-year Arizona, Connecticut and Florida were worst hit, seeing more than -20% falls in construction industry employment. The biggest drop in the number of jobs was seen in California - the largest state in terms of construction employment - where 152300 jobs were lost year-on-year. This equated to a -18.4% drop.