ARLINGTON, VA. – Construction employment increased in 39 U.S. states in March from a year earlier, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released by the Associated General Contractors of America earlier this month.
Meanwhile, 36 states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between February and March.
However, association officials warned a dearth of available workers may threaten timely completion of many projects.
“Most states have experienced no letup in demand for construction projects, as these numbers reveal,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “In fact, even more states would have posted an increase in construction employment if contractors could find enough qualified workers.”
California added the most construction employees year over year (33,900 jobs, 3.8 per cent), followed by Texas (28,600 jobs, 3.5 per cent) and Florida (23,000 jobs, 3.7 per cent). Alaska had the largest percentage increase over 12 months (16.2 per cent, 2,700 jobs), followed by South Dakota (10.9 per cent, 3,000 jobs) and Arkansas (9.7 per cent, 6,000 jobs).
New York lost the most construction jobs during the past 12 months (minus 9,700 jobs, down 2.5 per cent), followed by Washington (down 8,400 jobs, minus 3.6 per cent) and Maryland (down 4,700 jobs, 2.9 per cent).
New York added the largest number and percentage of jobs over the month (9,500 jobs, 2.5 per cent). Other states with large monthly increases include California (4,600 jobs, 0.5 per cent), Michigan (4,000 jobs, 2.0 per cent) and Florida (3,600 jobs, 0.6 per cent).
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