New Hampshire’s construction unemployment falls from August

Industry jobless rate is ninth lowest in U.S.

New Hampshire’s construction unemployment rate fell to 4.0 percent in September, tied for the ninth-lowest rate in the country, according to statistics released by Associated Builders and Contractors.

The state’s construction jobless rate was 0.2 percent lower than the rate recorded in August, ABC reported. In September 2015, the rate also was 4.0 percent.

Meanwhile, the national construction unemployment rate as recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics was 5.2 percent, 0.3 percent lower than a year ago and the lowest national September construction unemployment rate since 2000, when it was 4.6 percent. BLS also reported that the industry employed 208,000 more people than in September 2015.

“September 2016 marks the sixth year of uninterrupted monthly year-over-year rate decreases in the national construction unemployment rate that began in October 2010,” said Bernard M. Markstein, president and chief economist of Markstein Advisors, who conducted the analysis for ABC.

The states with the lowest construction unemployment rates were Colorado (2.4 percent), South Dakota (2.9 percent), Idaho and North Dakota (3.0 percent) and Massachusetts (3.3 percent).

The states with the highest rates were Alaska (10.1 percent), New Mexico (8.6 percent), Rhode Island (8.5 percent), Pennsylvania (8.1 percent) and Alabama (7.6 percent).