Construction Employment Expanded in 44 States YOY in October

Arlington, VA, November 19, 2018-Forty-four states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between October 2017 and October 2018, while 36 states and D.C. added construction jobs between September and October, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data.

Association officials said that firms in most parts of the country are adding staff to keep pace with growing demand for construction, but cautioned that rising labor and materials costs could undermine future demand.

Texas added the most construction jobs during the past year (49,900 jobs, 6.9%). Other states adding a large number of new construction jobs for the past 12 months include Florida (43,400 jobs, 8.5%), California (30,000 jobs, 3.6%), Georgia (21,600 jobs, 11.6%), Arizona (18,000 jobs, 12.1%) and New York (15,600 jobs, 4.1%). Arizona added the highest percentage of new construction jobs during the past year, followed by Georgia, Nevada (11.4%, 9,500 jobs), Oregon (10.5%, 10,400 jobs), New Hampshire (10.3%, 2,800 jobs) and Florida. Construction employment reached a record high in five states: Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

Six states shed construction jobs between October 2017 and 2018. The largest declines and steepest percentage losses occurred in New Jersey (-3,800 jobs, -2.5%), followed by South Carolina (-1,700 jobs, -1.7%), Oklahoma (-500 jobs, -0.6%), Hawaii (-300 jobs, -0.8%) and Mississippi (-300 jobs, -0.7%).

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