ARLINGTON, VA. — U.S. construction employment increased in 223 of 358 metro areas between August 2022 and August 2023 according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government employment data.
“Although construction employment is growing in most locations, contractors everywhere report they are having trouble filling positions,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, in a release. “Many more metro areas would have shown gains if there were enough qualified workers to fill the openings.”
Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas added the most construction jobs (15,100 jobs or 10 per cent), followed by New York City (11,000 jobs, eight per cent); Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash. (9,200 jobs, 11 per cent); Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. (7,700 jobs, five per cent); and Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, Calif. (7,400 jobs, 10 per cent).
The largest percentage gains were in Baton Rouge, La. (16 per cent, 7,100 jobs); followed by 11-per-cent gains in Wilmington, Del.-Md.-N.J. (2,000 jobs); Middlesex-Monmouth-Ocean, N.J. (4,800 jobs); Cheyenne, Wyo. (400 jobs); and Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro.
Construction employment declined over the year in 79 metro areas and was unchanged in 56 areas. The largest job loss occurred in Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas (minus 6,800 jobs, down three per cent), followed by Nassau County-Suffolk County, N.Y. (down 5,200 jobs, six per cent); Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla. (down 4,400 jobs, eight per cent); and St. Louis, Mo.-Ill. (down 2,900 jobs, four per cent).
Association officials said the results of a survey the association released earlier in September showed that one of the causes for construction labour shortages is that candidates often lack the skills needed to be hired. They urged public officials to introduce more construction-focused programs in school and training settings to expose future workers to the hard and soft skills they need.
They also urged lawmakers to reform the immigration system so people who want to immigrate to the country and work can do so in an orderly and lawful fashion.
“When an industry that pays an average of $34 an hour can’t find enough qualified people to hire, we clearly need to rethink the way the country prepares future workers,” said Stephen Sandherr, the association’s CEO. “In the meantime, we need to secure the border while allowing more people to lawfully enter the country to repair infrastructure, modernize the economy and build their own American dream.”
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