November construction employment summary

The industry’s unemployment rate in November was 7.3%, compared to 4.4% in November 2019. A total of 732,000 former construction workers were unemployed, up from 428,000 a year earlier and the highest November total since 2012.

Association officials warned that more projects are likely to be canceled amid a new surge in the pandemic. Also, firms that used Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to save jobs face an unexpected tax hit because the Trump administration is defying Congressional intent and opting to tax forgiven loans as income. Without tax relief and other needed recovery measures, the officials warned that November’s modest job gains are likely to be fleeting.