Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between March 2017 and March 2018, while 29 states added construction jobs between February and March, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data released today. Association officials said the job gains are coming amid strong private-sector demand and new public-sector investments in school and airport construction.
"Construction employment continues to expand in most parts of the country as private-sector demand remains strong and limited, new public investments in infrastructure are beginning to have an impact," said chief economist Ken Simonson. "The two greatest risks to future construction job growth are a lack of available, qualified workers and the potential impacts of new tariffs being imposed by and on the United States."
California added the most construction jobs (54,400 jobs, 6.8%) during the past year. Other states adding a large number of new construction jobs for the past 12 months include Texas (34,000 jobs, 4.8%); Florida (31,600 jobs, 6.3%); Pennsylvania (13,600 jobs, 5.6%) and Michigan (12,100 jobs, 7.5%). West Virginia (11.2%, 3,400 jobs) added the highest percentage of new construction jobs during the past year, followed by Nevada (9.0%, 7,500 jobs); Idaho (8.6%, 3,800 jobs); Massachusetts (7.7%, 11,500 jobs) and New Mexico (7.6%, 3,400 jobs).
Twelve states shed construction jobs between March 2017 and March 2018. North Dakota lost the highest total and percentage of construction jobs (-4,300 jobs, -14.8 percent), followed by Iowa (-3,900 jobs, -5.0 percent); Kansas (-2,500 jobs, -4.1%); Nebraska (-2,000 jobs, -3.8%) and New Jersey (-1,800 jobs, -1.2%). In addition to North Dakota, other states that lost a high percentage of construction jobs for the month included Iowa; Kansas; Nebraska and Hawaii (-2.4%, -900 jobs).
Twenty-nine states added construction jobs between February and March. Texas added the most (3,800 jobs, 0.5%), followed by Wisconsin (2,300 jobs, 1.9%); Florida (2,200 jobs, 0.4%); Michigan (1,600 jobs, 0.9%) and Missouri (1,400 jobs, 1.2%). Alaska added the highest percentage of construction jobs for the month (2.6%, 400 jobs), followed by Wisconsin; Iowa (1.8%, 1,300 jobs); Kentucky (1.3%, 1,000 jobs) and Missouri.
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia lost construction jobs between February and March, while construction employment was unchanged in Vermont and Wyoming. New York lost the most construction jobs for the month (-5,200 jobs, -1.3%), followed by California (-4,400 jobs, -0.5%); New Jersey (-1,400 jobs, -0.9%); Arizona (-1,200 jobs, -0.8%) and Minnesota (-1,000 jobs, -0.8%). Rhode Island lost the highest percentage of construction jobs (-2.6%, -500 jobs), followed by Hawaii (-1.9%, -700 jobs); West Virginia (-1.7%, -600 jobs); South Dakota (-1.7%, -400 jobs) and New York.
Association officials said the widespread job gains were welcome news, but cautioned that new tariffs announced by the Trump administration and counter measures from other trading partners could undermine demand for construction of shipping, logistics and manufacturing facilities. "There are better ways to address trade imbalances than by undermining domestic economic growth," said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association's chief executive officer.
View the state employment data by rank and state. View the state employment map.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Citizenship building in Texas targets LEED Silver
The Department of Homeland Security's new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services facility in Irving, Texas, was designed by 4240 Architecture and developed by JDL Castle Corporation. The focal point of the two-story, 56,000-sf building is the double-height, glass-walled Ceremony Room where new citizens take the oath.
| Aug 11, 2010
Carpenters' union helping build its own headquarters
The New England Regional Council of Carpenters headquarters in Dorchester, Mass., is taking shape within a 1940s industrial building. The Building Team of ADD Inc., RDK Engineers, Suffolk Construction, and the carpenters' Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, is giving the old facility a modern makeover by converting the existing two-story structure into a three-story, 75,000-sf, LEED-certif...
| Aug 11, 2010
Wisconsin becomes the first state to require BIM on public projects
As of July 1, the Wisconsin Division of State Facilities will require all state projects with a total budget of $5 million or more and all new construction with a budget of $2.5 million or more to have their designs begin with a Building Information Model. The new guidelines and standards require A/E services in a design-bid-build project delivery format to use BIM and 3D software from initial ...
| Aug 11, 2010
News Briefs: GBCI begins testing for new LEED professional credentials... Architects rank durability over 'green' in product attributes... ABI falls slightly in April, but shows market improvement
News Briefs: GBCI begins testing for new LEED professional credentials... Architects rank durability over 'green' in product attributes... ABI falls slightly in April, but shows market improvement
| Aug 11, 2010
University of Florida's traditionally modern graduate building
The University of Florida's Hough Hall Graduate Studies Building was designed by Rowe Architects, Tampa, and Sasaki Associates, Boston, to blend with the school's traditional collegiate gothic architecture outside, but reflect a 21st-century education facility inside. Tallahassee-based Ajax Building Corporation is constructing the $19 million facility, which will have traditional exterior detai...
| Aug 11, 2010
Florida International University's cantilevered design
Suffolk Construction's Miami-Dade business unit is serving as GC for the $14 million School of International and Public Affairs building at the University Park Campus of Florida International University. Designed by Arquitectonica, Miami, the five-story, 58,408-sf building will have a café and three auditoriums on the ground level; the largest auditorium will have a 40-foot cantilever abov...
| Aug 11, 2010
Restoration gives new life to New Formalism icon
The $30 million upgrade, restoration, and expansion of the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles was completed by the team of Rios Clementi Hale Studios (architect), Harley Ellis Devereaux (executive architect/MEP), KPFF (structural engineer), and Taisei Construction (GC). Work on the Welton Becket-designed 1967 complex included an overhaul of the auditorium, lighting, and acoustics.
| Aug 11, 2010
Best AEC Firms to Work For
2006 FreemanWhite Hnedak Bobo Group McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. Shawmut Design and Construction Walter P Moore 2007 Anshen+Allen Arup Bovis Lend Lease Cannon Design Jones Lang LaSalle Perkins+Will SmithGroup SSOE, Inc. Timothy Haahs & Associates, Inc. 2008 Gilbane Building Co. HDR KJWW Engineering Consultants Lord, Aeck & Sargent Mark G.
| Aug 11, 2010
Great Solutions: Business Management
22. Commercial Properties Repositioned for University USE Tocci Building Companies is finding success in repositioning commercial properties for university use, and it expects the trend to continue. The firm's Capital Cove project in Providence, R.I., for instance, was originally designed by Elkus Manfredi (with design continued by HDS Architects) to be a mixed-use complex with private, market-...
