Arlington, Va. -- Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between February 2017 and February 2018, while 38 states added construction jobs between January and February, according to an analysis of U.S. Labor Department data by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Association officials praised the latest Congressional spending bill for funding career and technical education to help young workers get into the industry.
“The construction industry continues to add employees in most of the nation, despite a shortage of workers with construction experience,” said Ken Simonson, AGC chief economist. “But job openings are growing, as contractors encounter a shrinking pool of experienced jobseekers.”
California added the most construction jobs (74,000 jobs) during the past year. Other states adding a high number of new construction jobs for the past 12 months include Texas (33,900 jobs) and Florida (31,700 jobs). Fourteen states shed construction jobs between February 2017 and February 2018, while construction employment was unchanged in Vermont. North Dakota lost the highest percentage of construction jobs, by far (-16.3%), followed by Iowa (-8.55), Kansas (-5.3%) and Nebraska (-4.2 %). Iowa lost the largest number of jobs, followed by North Dakota, Missouri, and Kansas.
“The states with the largest job gains were all recovering from natural disasters, while losses were concentrated in the Plains states,” Simonson commented. “The Plains states have been hurt by a downturn in farm-related income.”
Thirty-eight states added construction jobs between January and February. New York added the most (7,700 jobs), followed by Florida (7,100 jobs) and California (6,800 jobs). Eleven states lost construction jobs between January and February, while construction employment was unchanged in Alabama and D.C. Washington state lost the most construction jobs for the month (-1,500 jobs), followed by Alaska (-800 jobs) and Kansas (-700 jobs).
For more information, visit www.agc.org.
