The U.S. construction industry added 8,000 jobs on net in October, despite a broader stall, according to the latest employment figures.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), a construction industry trade association, analyzed new figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and found that on a year-over-year basis, construction industry employment has grown by 223,000 jobs, an increase of 2.8 percent.

This comes as payroll employment was largely unchanged last month, with only 12,000 positions created and not the forecasted 100,000. The underwhelming data is thought to be, in part, the result of Hurricanes Helene and Milton and the Boeing machinists’ strike.

“Despite the underwhelming and heavily distorted economywide data, this jobs report indicates that the construction industry added jobs for the fifth straight month,” said ABC’s chief economist, Anirban Basu.

“Over the past year, the construction sector has added jobs at exactly twice the rate of the broader economy, and growth has been even faster in the nonresidential segment,” she added.

Basu said that “it appears likely that industry payrolls will continue to expand through at least the early months of 2025.”

ABC found that nonresidential construction employment jobs increased by 13,500 on net, and the highest number of positions were generated by the nonresidential specialty trade sector.

The association’s analysis also revealed that the construction unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent last month, while across all other industries the rate remained low at 4.1 percent.

The jobs report is thought to be a final snapshot of the country’s economic performance in the lead up to the election on November 5.

The economy has been a concern of the American voters throughout the 2024 election, and 52 percent said it would have an “extremely important” influence on their vote in a Gallup survey conducted between September 16 to 28.

The economy has not been ranked so highly as an “extremely important” influence on voter’s choice of presidential candidate since the 2008 election during the Great Recession, the Gallup survey showed.

Experts have said that they believe the economy could cost Vice President Kamala Harris the election, with more than half of Americans thinking the economy is heading in the wrong direction.

A poll from October 17-21 found that 44 percent of registered voters trusted former President Donald Trump more to handle the economy, while 43 percent felt the same about Harris, the Democratic nominee.

The poll, conducted by the Financial Times and University of Michigan Ross School of Business, surveyed 1,007 voters and the margin of error was 3.1 points, meaning the Republican‘s lead was too close to call.

Newsweek has contacted the campaigns of Harris and Trump via email for comment.

Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com.