As the housing market shows small signs of life, construction workers in McHenry County and across the state still are experiencing high unemployment rates, and many are looking elsewhere for jobs.

In McHenry County, about 3,300 unemployed workers in the construction sector make up 21.8 percent of the total unemployed workforce, according to the McHenry County Workforce Network Board. Statewide, 14.6 percent of unemployed residents are a part of the construction industry, according to the board.

According the Associated General Contractors of America, the national construction industry unemployment rate is at 12.3 percent, the lowest July total in four years. But that number is deceiving, the AGC notes, as nearly 700,000 construction workers have left the industry since 2009.