Construction Workers: Dreading A Teardown In Jobs

Construction payrolls once again posted a strong gain, producing 41,000 new jobs in February. But now that the housing market has peaked, construction jobs won't be as plentiful heading into the summer building season. And the impact will not be felt equally across the country.

Over the past year the booming housing market translated into big gains in construction payrolls. Building jobs accounted for over 17% of all new jobs in the U.S. despite accounting for only 5.4% of total payroll. But the National Association of Realtors' March housing forecast projects a 7.7% fall in new home sales this year. Economists also expect February home sales to run below the previous-year pace for the first time in 18 months.