The economy and jobs market is facing a testing few months with fresh evidence the residential construction sector is still struggling, with warnings 100,000 construction workers could lose their jobs.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday reported a 1.2 per cent drop in building approvals across the country last month, led by a 5.4 per cent fall in NSW.

Building approvals continued falling through June with warnings more construction jobs are likely to be lost. Credit:Erin Jonasson

While there was a small lift in approvals for houses, up by 0.4 per cent in June to be down by 14.8 per cent over the past 12 months, approvals of units and apartments slumped 6.5 per cent in the month.

Approvals in the apartment sector have now fallen by 39.3 per cent over the past year with last month the worst June performance since 2013. Some of the biggest drops have been among unit blocks four storeys or taller, with approvals of these in NSW down 50 per cent over the past two years.