An estimated 7,000 people got jobs in construction last month, pushing the industry’s unemployment rate to its lowest level in five years, the Associated General Contractors of America said.
The industry’s seasonally unadjusted May unemployment rate was 10.8 percent, compared with 14.2 percent in May 2012. An estimated 5.8 million were employed in the industry, which was 189,000 more people than a year ago, the association said. Weekly work hours for construction professionals were up by 5.2 percent from year-ago levels.