Construction added 37,000 jobs in March, the Associated Builders and Contractors says.

Citing   U.S. government data, ABC says the industry has added 301,000 jobs in the past year — the largest increase since May 2015.

"The headline job growth number tells us that construction remains one of the U.S. economy's leading economic drivers," said ABC's chief economist, Anirban Basu. "While the broader economic recovery remains in place,  construction accounts a disproportionate share of that recovery. Many other aspects of the recovery remain at least somewhat unsatisfying, including surprisingly soft wage growth, weak corporate profits and sluggishness in business investment. However, demand for labor remains high, including in a number of key nonresidential construction segments. 

"Continued job growth helps fuel both spending power and confidence," said Basu. "Naturally, consumer spending-led recoveries such as this more directly impact residential construction segments than nonresidential. Accordingly, the residential construction recovery continues to be a bit more forceful and that is likely to continue during the months ahead." 

The industry’s unemployment remains at 8.7 percent.