ABC of Michigan News Releases

Lansing, Mich. – Michigan’s construction industry saw the largest year-over-year drop in unemployment of any state in the U.S. with a 5.7-point unemployment rate decrease, according to data for February released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and analyzed by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).

“Michigan’s construction economy is strong and growing,” said Chris Fisher, ABC of Michigan President. “The harsh winter weather slows construction jobs – but not the overall trend of Michigan’s construction comeback. After a decade of job loss, Michigan’s construction skilled workers are being put back to work at higher rates this year. There is more work to do to encourage job growth, but the trajectory of Michigan’s construction industry continues upward.”

Economist Bernard Markstein analyzed the data for ABC and noted that, “the weather around the winter months also makes it more difficult to judge the health of the construction industry. Nonetheless, construction appears to be on an upward trajectory across much of the nation. On a year-over-year basis, February construction unemployment rates were down in 44 of the 50 states along with the U.S. rate.”

Michigan’s construction unemployment rate improved to 13.5 (not seasonally adjusted) in February 2015, down from 19.2 in February 2014. The state-level construction unemployment data and analysis are a part of ABC’s state-level data series launched in March 2015 that includes an annual breakdown of construction's contribution to each state’s gross domestic product in addition to monthly updates on state-levelconstruction unemployment.

###