Thirty-five US states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between January 2017 and January 2018, while 32 states and DC added construction jobs between December and January, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data released today. Association officials cautioned, however, that newly-imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum products are likely to undermine future job growth in the sector.
“The widespread growth of these good-paying jobs is encouraging,” said chief economist Ken Simonson. “But many of the jobs are at risk if unwise tariffs push up materials costs, making projects unaffordable, and if the nation continues to underfund infrastructure investment.”
California added the most construction jobs (75,500 jobs, 9.8 percent) during the past year, while West Virginia added the highest percentage of new construction jobs during the past year (14.4 percent, 4,300 jobs).
Fifteen states shed construction jobs between January 2017 and January 2018. North Dakota lost the highest number and highest percentage of construction jobs (-15.8 percent, -4,600 jobs).
“It is noteworthy that the three states with the largest job gains were all recovering from natural disasters, in addition to having generally robust economies,” Simonson commented. “The job losses in North Dakota and other Plains states may have more to do with severe weather conditions this January than a long-term downtrend.”
Thirty-one states and D.C. added construction jobs between December and January. California added the most (11,100 jobs, 1.3 percent), while New Mexico added the highest percentage of construction jobs for the month (3.0 percent, 1,400 jobs).
Seventeen states lost construction jobs between December and January, while construction employment was unchanged in Kansas and New York. Pennsylvania lost the most construction jobs for the month (-4,300 jobs, -1.7 percent), while Nebraska lost the highest percentage of construction jobs (-2.3 percent, -1,200 jobs).
“Many construction firms will be forced to absorb the increases in steel and aluminum prices these new tariffs are already causing, making it even harder to add new personnel,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “The irony here is that by seeking to help one sector of our economy, the President is likely to damage the rest of it.”