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While construction employment continues to drop, it’s dropping at a much lower rate than a year before.

According to , 11,000 construction jobs were lost between June and July across the U.S., leaving an estimated 5.57 million construction jobs, a 14-year low.

Construction employment decreased by 6.3 percent from July 2009 to July 2010, a loss of 376,000 jobs. While still a loss, it was much less severe than the nearly 1 million construction jobs lost from July 2008 to July 2009. Residential construction saw the largest decreases in construction employment, dropping 1.7 percent from the month previous and 8.9 percent over the past year.

Oregon’s monthly construction employment was less severe, only dropping 0.5 percent from a month previous, a loss of 300 jobs, according to . But over the past year construction employment dropped 11.8 percent with 8,700 jobs lost. Currently 65,100 people are employed in the construction trade in Oregon, the lowest employment number since 1994.

Mike Salsgiver, executive director of the Oregon-Columbia chapter of the Associated General Contractors, said the construction firms he represents in the area are definitely feeling the dismal construction numbers.

“It’s a matter of drowning slowly or drowning quickly,” Salsgiver said. “Either way, we’re still drowning.”