Dive Brief:

• The construction industry added jobs in all categories for a total increase of 20,000 last month, including residential construction, which turned around a net loss of jobs in August.
• Unemployment in the industry went down to 8.5%, a six-year low mark, while the overall U.S. unemployment rate went down to 7.2%. A year ago, construction unemployment was 11.9%.
• The Labor Department also revised the new-jobs number for August up from the original estimate by 8,000.

Dive Insight:

The federal numbers for September were delayed because the people who usually have them early each month were furloughed as Congress squabbled about spending and no appropriations were in place for the start of the fiscal year. The September numbers went up until the day before the government partially closed, so it will be October's data, out sometime in November, that will show whether the shutdown affected construction. It's not clear if the Labor Department can get back on schedule with the November announcement or if there will again be a delay because people were not in their offices.