Construction hiring in November disappointed.

Jobs in the residential construction sector declined 1,700 jobs in November from the month before, the Labor Department said on Friday. Overall, the construction sector gained 2,000 jobs in November, down from the prior three-month average of 21,000 and the weakest monthly growth since March.

The overall construction figure wasn’t in line with expectations, according to Nick Grandy, a construction and real estate senior analyst with RSM US.

“Today’s jobs report is a bit of a surprise, as we were expecting the construction industry to add between 15,000 and 20,000 jobs for the month of November,” Grandy told Yahoo Finance. “The biggest surprises were within the specialty contractor segment for both residential and non-residential construction employment, which has been one of the primary engines for growth in construction but added just 1,900 jobs for the month.”

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