Construction employment reached its highest level in almost a decade last month as the industry added 8,000 jobs, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.

The industry’s current employment level is the highest since October 2008, the association said.

"Construction firms added employees over the past year at a much higher rate than the public and private sectors as a whole, and contractors have been boosting pay to attract more workers," said Ken Simonson, the AGC's chief economist. "But with unemployment so low overall and in construction, many contractors are having trouble filling a variety of hourly craft and salaried openings."

Industry employment stood at 6.9 million for September and is up 2.7 percent for the year so far, the association added.