Forty-two US states added construction jobs between December 2016 and December 2017, while 32 states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between November and December, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data. Association officials said a new federal infrastructure measure would help guarantee continued employment gains in the sector.
“Construction employment is expanding in many parts of the country in large part because of strong private-sector demand,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Any new public-sector investments, particularly for infrastructure projects, would help accelerate job gains in many parts of the country.”
California added the most construction jobs (56,000 jobs, 7.1 percent) during the past year, while Nevada (12.8 percent, 10,400 jobs) added the highest percentage of new construction jobs.
Eight states shed construction jobs between December 2016 and December 2017 while construction employment was unchanged in the District of Columbia. Missouri lost the highest number of construction jobs (-8,800 jobs, -7.2 percent), while Iowa (-7,500 jobs, -9.2 percent) lost the highest percentage for the year.
Among the 32 states and the District of Columbia that added construction jobs between November and December, California added more than any other state (7,000 jobs, 0.8 percent), while Montana added the highest percentage of construction jobs for the month (5.5 percent, 1,500 jobs).
Fifteen states lost construction jobs between November and December, while construction employment was unchanged in three states. New Jersey lost the most construction jobs as well as the highest percentage for the month (-4,300 jobs, -2.7 percent).