U.S. construction employment jumped by 23,000 in June, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released July 7 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Industry employment has risen by 198,000 jobs since June 2022, an increase of 2.6% to 7.947 million, ABC said.

Nonresidential construction employment rose by 12,200 positions on net, with positive growth in two of the three subcategories. Heavy and civil engineering added 7,300 positions, while nonresidential building added an additional 5,400 jobs. Nonresidential specialty trade contractors lost 500 jobs on net, according to ABC.

The construction unemployment rate, however, increased to 3.6%, while unemployment across all industries decreased from 3.7% in May to 3.6% in June.

“Theory suggests that the roughly 500-basis point increase in the federal funds rate over the past year would weigh on the demand for construction workers, yet the industry continues to add thousands of jobs each month,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Contractors have collectively added jobs in 15 of the past 16 months, and ABC’s Construction Confidence Index suggests they will continue to increase staffing levels through the remainder of the year.”

The announcement on construction employment numbers came as Americans learned that the U.S. economy added the fewest jobs in two-and-a-half years in June, according to the Labor Department.

Despite this, the pace of job growth remains strong by historical standards, and data this week showed an acceleration in services sector activity, suggesting that a long-awaited recession may not be eminent, according to an analysis by Reuters.