Construction Employment Up in 35 States Year over Year

Arlington, VA, October 21, 2015—Construction employment expanded in 35 states and the District of Columbia between September 2014 and September 2015, yet only 23 states added jobs between August and September, according to analysis of Labor Department data by the Associated General Contractors of America.

Association officials said the fact as many states lost construction jobs as added them last month was likely due to a combination of labor shortages and uncertainty about a host of federal investment programs.

"Depending on the kind of work they perform, many contractors either can't find enough workers, or they can't find enough work," said Stephen E. Sandherr, chief executive officer for the association. "While overall demand for construction continues to grow and sap the pool of available labor, firms that work on federally-funded projects are dealing with a lot of uncertainty."

California added the most new construction jobs (43,900 jobs, 6.4%) between September 2014 and September 2015. Other states adding a high number of new construction jobs for the past 12 months include Florida (26,700 jobs, 6.6%), Washington (11,400 jobs, 7.1%) and Pennsylvania (11,300 jobs, 4.9%). Arkansas (16.1%, 7,400 jobs) added the highest percentage of new construction jobs during the past year, followed by Alaska (11.2%, 1,900 jobs), Kansas (9.5%, 5,600 jobs) and South Carolina (9.0%, 7,400 jobs).

Fourteen states shed construction jobs during the past 12 months, while construction employment was unchanged in Oregon. West Virginia (-16.9%, -5,800 jobs) lost the highest percent of construction jobs. Other states that lost a high percentage of jobs for the year include Rhode Island (-10.9%, -1,800 jobs), Ohio (-6.3%, -12,400 jobs) and Mississippi (-5.1%, -2,400 jobs). The largest job losses occurred in Ohio, West Virginia, Minnesota (-2,700 jobs, -2.5%) and Mississippi.

Association officials said that ongoing construction labor shortages in many markets are making it hard for many firms to fill positions. They noted that many firms indicated a low opinion of the pipeline for recruiting and training new construction workers.

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