Scorelogix Construction JSI Increases by 3.6% in August 2008

Scorelogix^® Construction Job Security Index^™ Increases

by 3.6% in August 2008

Fifth Straight Month of Growth in Industry

The Scorelogix® Construction Job Security Index™, a predictor of job security in a key sector of the economy, rose 3.6% in July, to 77.2. This marks the fifth consecutive month of growth in Construction. Job Security in Construction had become significantly less secure after December 2007, when a four month, 110.3 point, 93.4% decline began. Recovery since March 2008 has been steady, but slow. Further, the 3.6% growth in August marks the slowest rate of growth since recovery began in April 2008.

The strongest individual States for job security in Construction are South Dakota and Wyoming. Michigan is the weakest State for job security, with Mississippi and Rhode Island recording low scores as well.

Top 10 States by Construction Job Security in August 2008

1	South Dakota	117.2
2	Wyoming	114.6
3	North Dakota	110.3
4	Utah	108.2
5	Nebraska	108.1
6	Idaho	107.8
7	Montana	104.5
8	New Hampshire	103.5
9	Iowa	103.4
10	Oklahoma	101.5

Bottom 10 States by Construction Job Security in August 2008

1	Michigan	36.6
2	Mississippi	47.2
3	Rhode Island	51.2
4	California	58.0
5	Illinois	59.6
6	District Of Columbia	62.4
7	Ohio	63.2
8	Tennessee	64.6
9	South Carolina	65.3
10	Kentucky	66.4

The increase in job security in Construction has occurred across all nine of the US census regions.

The West South Central and Mountain Regions recorded the sharpest increase of 4.6 percent in job security. At 1.97% growth, the East North Central Region registered the slowest rate of growth in job security.

The 3.6% growth in overall Construction job security inversely reflects the 3.3% decline in the National JSI. This juxtaposition brings the Construction JSI closer to the National JSI, though they are still separated by a 42.7 point margin.

The nominal increase in job security in Construction is attributable to a slowdown in seasonal labor needs, and may indicate that the summer recovery in Construction job security is coming to an end.