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November 2011

Construction employment: a visual essay

Benjamin Cover

Construction occupations accounted for 4.9 million jobs in May 2010, down from 6.5 million in May 2006 when employment in construction-related occupations reached a peak. Since then, employment has declined among establishments whose primary output was construction or construction trade services and among workers performing construction-related activities in any industry. Employment in 40 of the 46 construction occupations decreased over this time, with some occupations declining by half. The employment declines were more extreme in some industries than others. Employment declines were often steeper among the lower-paid construction helper occupations.

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