Thirty-six US states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between July 2016 and July 2017, yet only half the states added construction jobs between June and July amid declining public-sector investments in infrastructure and other construction projects, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data released today.
Association officials said firms in parts of the country that build infrastructure projects are seeing less demand for their services amid overall declines in public-sector spending.
“Despite growing private-sector demand, it appears that construction employment in some parts of the country is being brought down by declining public-sector investments,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the association. “Some of these declines will be offset thanks to recently enacted state infrastructure funding increases, but stagnant federal investments are not helping.”
California added the most construction jobs (51,000 jobs, 6.6 percent) during the past year, while Oregon (11,900 jobs, 13.2 percent) added the highest percentage of new construction jobs during the past year.
Thirteen states and the District of Columbia shed construction jobs between July 2016 and July 2017 while construction employment was unchanged in North Dakota. Iowa lost the highest number of construction jobs (-4,400 jobs, -5.4 percent), while South Dakota lost the highest percentage for the year (-5.6 percent, -1,400 jobs).
Among the 25 states that added construction jobs between June and July, California added more than any other state (8,200 jobs, 1.0 percent), while Oklahoma (3.4 percent, 2,700 jobs) added the highest percentage of construction jobs for the month.
Twenty-four states and D.C. lost construction jobs between June and July while construction employment was unchanged in Rhode Island. Georgia (-3,200 jobs, -1.8 percent) lost the most construction jobs for the month, while New Mexico (-3.9 percent, -1,800 jobs) lost the highest percentage of construction jobs during the past month.
Association officials urged Congress and the administration to act quickly to make needed new investments in the country’s aging infrastructure to offset declining public-sector investments in construction. In particular, they urged officials to consider including new infrastructure investments as part of a tax reform measures expected this fall. New investments in infrastructure will not only help boost construction employment, but they will also make the broader economy more efficient, helping all businesses improve.