Construction Jobs Tick Up in March from Previous Month

According to a recent survey by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), construction employment expanded in 26 states and the District of Columbia between February and March 2010, yet only Arkansas and North Dakota have more construction workers than they did a year ago. The figures, while offering room for optimism, underscore how far the industry is from a recovery, association officials said.

“It’s too early to tell whether these numbers reflect the start of a positive trend, or the impact of a warm March following a snowy February,” says Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist. “Even assuming the numbers are heading in the right direction, it is a long climb just to get back to normal for the construction industry.”

The state with the largest percentage increase in construction employment was Maryland, which added the most jobs (5,200, 3.7 percent); followed by Pennsylvania (4,900, 2.3 percent); New York (4,300, 1.4 percent); Missouri (4,100, 4.1 percent); and Indiana (3,500, 3.1 percent).

During the same period, 22 states lost jobs, and construction employment was unchanged in two states. Texas lost the most jobs (6,300, 1.1 percent); followed by Louisiana (5,200, 4.1 percent); Nevada (4,600, 6.7 percent); Arizona (2,900, 2.5 percent); and Colorado (2,600, 2.3 percent).

The state construction employment picture is significantly bleaker when measured between March 2009 and 2010, Simonson cautions. He said that 48 states and the District of Columbia lost construction jobs over the past year, while only Arkansas (300, 0.6 percent) and North Dakota (100, 0.5 percent) added construction jobs. Simonson notes that 28 states experienced double-digit percentage declines in construction employment over the past year.

Among the states losing construction jobs last year, California (108,500, 16.3 percent) lost the most; followed by Florida (57,000, 13.7 percent); Illinois (32,800, 14.2 percent); Washington (31,200, 18.4 percent); and Ohio (29,400, 15.2 percent). Nevada (30.0 percent, 27,400 jobs) and Colorado (20.3 percent, 28,600 jobs) experienced the highest percentage declines in construction employment over the past year.

Association officials said they expected stimulus-funded construction work to provide a needed boost for the construction industry this year. But they cautioned that continued declines in private-sector and state & local construction activity were likely to exceed the amount of stimulus funded work. “As much as the stimulus helps, until broader demand for construction expands, our industry will be lucky just to tread water,” Simonson added.