One-fifth of metro areas lost construction jobs between September 2020 and 2021

Nearly one-fifth of U.S. metro areas lost construction jobs between September 2020 and September 2021, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government employment data released today. Association officials noted that the job losses are occurring in many metro areas as plans to boost investments in infrastructure languish in Washington and firms cope with shortages, delivery delays and construction materials price increases.

“Many metro areas are having a hard time getting back to construction employment levels from last fall that were already low because of the pandemic,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “The challenge is that the economic recovery for the construction industry is being undermined by Washington’s failure to boost infrastructure investments and continuing supply chain disfunction.”

Construction employment declined from a year earlier in 67 metros and held steady in 33. Nassau County-Suffolk County, N.Y. lost the most jobs (-6,000 or -8%), followed by New York City (-5,500 jobs, -4%); New Orleans-Metairie, La. (-3,100 jobs, -12%); Calvert-Charles-Prince George’s, Md. (-3,100 jobs, -9%) and Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md. (-2,400 jobs, -3%). The largest percentage declines were in Evansville, Ind.-Ky. (-18%, -1,800 jobs); New Orleans-Metairie; Fairbanks, Alaska (-10%, -300 jobs); Knoxville, Tenn. (-10%, -1,800 jobs); Gadsden, Ala. (-9%, -100 jobs); Calvert-Charles-Prince George's; and Victoria, Texas (-9%, -300 jobs).

Construction employment increased in 258 out of 358 metro areas over the last 12 months. Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, Calif. added the most construction jobs (9,000 jobs, 13%), followed by Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash. (7,800 jobs, 8%); San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif. (7,600 jobs, 9%); Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, Ill. (6,700 jobs, 5%) and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass. (6,700 jobs, 9%). Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas had the highest percentage increase (20%, 3,300 jobs), followed by Sierra Vista-Douglas, Ariz. (19%, 600 jobs); Waterbury, Conn. (17%, 500 jobs); Albuquerque, N.M. (15%, 3,700 jobs) and Fargo, N.D.-Minn. (15%, 1,400 jobs).

Association officials urged members of Congress in the House to quickly pass an infrastructure bill that already received broad, bipartisan support in the Senate. They also encouraged the Biden administration to explore ways, like temporarily adjusting hours of service rules for drivers, to unclog shipping facilities that how more goods than drivers.

“Washington leaders have the ability to fix our supply chains now while also investing in their long-term efficiency,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “But nothing is going to get fixed with partisan talk and legislative and executive inaction.”

View the metro employment data, rankings, top 10, new highs and lows, and map.

The Architectural Billings Index measures the general sentiment of U.S. architecture firms about the health of the construction market by measuring 1) design billings and 2) design contracts. Any score above 50 means that, among the architecture firms surveyed, more firms than not reported seeing increases in design work vs. the previous month.