Dive summary:

• The construction industry added 48,000 workers in February, which is the most in a month in almost six years, but now everyone waits to see if the federal government can get its budget in order by the end of March or drops a bomb on growth by shutting down.
• With the February hiring, the industry's unemployment rate – which is "real" rather than seasonally adjusted for slow winter months – went from 17.1% in January to 15.7% last month.
• The February increase comprised 19,400 more workers in residential building and 29,000 new workers in nonresidential projects.

From the article:

"Both single- and multifamily home-building have been accelerating for several months and should continue to add jobs in the near future," [Ken} Simonson said, noting that he expects construction employment may increase by 250,000 in 2013. ...