Forty-four states and the District of Columbia added
construction jobs between October 2017 and October 2018, while 36 states and Washington
D.C. added construction jobs between September and October, according to an
analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department recently
released. Association officials said that firms in most parts of the country
are adding staff to keep pace with growing demand for construction, but they cautioned
that rising labor and materials costs could undermine future demand.
“Construction activity continues to expand at a steady clip,
with employment growing by more than ten percent during the past year in five
states and by more than five percent in another 18 states,” says Chief Economist
Ken Simonson. “As contractors pay more for labor and most of the materials they
use to build, construction costs will climb, potentially dampening future
demand for their services.”
Texas added the most construction jobs during the past year
(49,900 jobs, 6.9 percent). Other states that added a large number of new
construction jobs in the past 12 months include: Florida (43,400 jobs, 8.5
percent); California (30,000 jobs, 3.6 percent); Georgia (21,600 jobs, 11.6
percent); Arizona (18,000 jobs, 12.1 percent); and New York (15,600 jobs, 4.1
percent). Arizona added the highest percentage of new construction jobs during
the past year, followed by Georgia, Nevada (11.4 percent, 9,500 jobs), Oregon
(10.5 percent, 10,400 jobs), New Hampshire (10.3 percent, 2,800 jobs) and
Florida. Construction employment reached a record high in five states:
Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Texas and Washington.
Six states shed construction jobs between October 2017 and 2018.
The largest declines and steepest percentage losses occurred in New Jersey
(-3,800 jobs, -2.5 percent), followed by South Carolina (-1,700 jobs, -1.7
percent), Oklahoma (-500 jobs, -0.6 percent), Hawaii (-300 jobs, -0.8 percent)
and Mississippi (-300 jobs, -0.7 percent).
Among the 36 states with one-month job gains between September
and October, Florida (3,000 jobs, 0.5 percent) and California (3,000 jobs, 0.4
percent) had the largest gains, followed by Arizona (2,500 jobs, 1.5 percent),
Georgia (2,500 jobs, 1.2 percent), Washington (2,500 jobs, 1.2 percent) and New
York (2,500 jobs, 0.6 percent). Iowa added the highest percentage of
construction jobs for the month (2.0 percent, 1,600 jobs), followed by Wyoming
(1.9 percent, 400 jobs) and Rhode Island (1.6 percent, 300 jobs).
From September to October, construction employment declined in
12 states and was unchanged in Connecticut and Maine. Louisiana lost the most
construction jobs (-1,900 jobs, -1.3 percent), followed by Oklahoma (-900 jobs,
-1.2 percent) and Michigan (-900 jobs, -0.5 percent). Mississippi lost the
highest percentage of construction jobs in October (-1.6 percent, -700 jobs),
followed by Montana (-1.4 percent, -400 jobs), Louisiana and Oklahoma.
Association officials said widespread construction employment
gains are a sign of strong demand for construction services in most parts of
the country. But they cautioned that without new investments in career and
technical education, immigration reform and swift resolution of trade disputes,
labor and materials costs will continue to climb.
“Firms in many parts of the country are hiring as fast as they
can find qualified workers to bring onboard just to keep pace with demand,” says
Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “But at some
point, the increasing costs of labor and construction materials are going to
drive construction prices to the point where many customers reschedule or
rethink their projects.”
View the state employment data by rank, state and peaks. View the state employment map.
