LoginAs demand for labor increases, the construction industry continues to hire more workers to fill customers' needs. According to a press release from the Associated General Contractors of America, jobs in construction fields are at their highest since July 2009, with companies hiring more than 179,000 people within the last 12 months. Ken Simpson, chief economist for the AGC, said that January added enough jobs to counter ones lost in December, even though many states throughout the country faced harsh winter conditions during the past two months. More than 48,000 positions were created, which helped drop the unemployment rate in the industry to 12.3 percent.
While jobs in the construction fields continue to soar, First Lady Michelle Obama announced through an opinion article she authored in The Wall Street Journal that 100 companies are coming together to hire more than 100,000 military veterans. She added that veterans are invaluable to the workplace, citing that skills they acquired during their service are beneficial for employment within these different construction companies.
"They made this commitment not just because it's the patriotic thing to do, and not just because they want to repay our veterans for their service to our country, but because these companies know it's the smart thing to do for their businesses," she wrote in the source.