The value of new U.S. construction starts climbed 12% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $447.6 billion, it was reported by McGraw-Hill Construction. However, through the first ten months of 2009, total construction was down 29% from the same period a year ago.

The upward push came from double-digit gains for nonresidential building and non-building construction (public works and electric utilities). At the same time, residential building in October was unchanged from its September pace.

“After bottoming out in early 2009, there’s been an up-and-down pattern for construction starts, with a gradual upward trend beginning to emerge,” said Robert A. Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction. “Single family housing is no longer pulling down the overall level of construction activity, and transportation-related public works has strengthened, helped by the federal stimulus funding.”

Meanwhile, the federal government last month reported that 1.6 million construction workers lost their jobs since December 2007. The result: construction unemployment in the U.S. last month was 18.7 percent. The Associated General Contractors reported that over the past year only one state – North Dakota – saw an increase in construction employment, gaining 400 total jobs.

“A shockingly large portion of the construction industry’s workforce has simply evaporated,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the AGC. He added that the 18.7 percent jobless rate was the highest of any sector in October and the industry accounted for one-fifth of all job losses in the past year, even though construction only employs one out of 20 workers.

“The nation's economic troubles are forcing construction workers to shoulder a withering burden,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, AGC's CEO.

Curiously, Michigan actually led the nation in month to month construction employment gains from September 2009 to October 2009, rising 4.6 percent with a gain of 5,400 jobs. If that’s a trend, it’s most welcome, because from October 2008 (when Michigan employed 149,600 in construction) to October 2009, Michigan lost 26,300 jobs. That ranks our state #42 in construction jobs lost during that one-year period.

According to the AGC, the five biggest percentage losses in construction employment over the year through October occurred in Nevada (26.9 percent, or 30,200 jobs), Arizona (24.2 percent, or 42,600 jobs), Tennessee (22.3 percent, or 29,300 jobs), Kentucky (20.8 percent, or 17,600 jobs) and Connecticut (19.3 percent or 12,500 jobs).

Murray said for nonresidential building, much of 2009 “has been characterized by a steep loss of momentum,” so October’s gain suggests that nonresidential building is “beginning to make the transition from steady decline to a more varied pattern,

which signifies the trend is shifting to a slower rate of descent going into 2010.”

On a cautionary note, however, Murray said the nonresidential building market is still looking at several major constraints going forward – rising vacancies, tight bank lending standards, and the weakened fiscal health of state and local governments.

The federal stimulus money is helping somewhat: through the first ten months of 2009, spending on highways and bridges was up 6% to 7% respectively. “Highway and bridge construction began to show the benefits from the federal stimulus funding in late spring,” Murray said, “while the benefits to other construction project types are only now beginning to emerge.”

Sandherr added, “helpful as the stimulus has been in saving some construction jobs, it is going to take more work to halt the devastating job losses that are wiping out millions of construction workers' families.”