Forty-three states added construction jobs between April 2018 and April 2019, according to analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). The 12-month increase is an improvement over the previous two data reports. The AGC reported 38 states added construction jobs between March 2018 and March 2019 and 37 states added jobs between February 2018 and February 2019.
Additionally, the AGC reported 32 states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs from March to April. The month-to-month change is also an increase from recent reports, as 29 states added construction jobs between February and March and only 16 states added construction jobs between January and February.
“Construction employment rose in most states over the past year, yet the record number of job openings at the end of March implies contractors would add even more workers if they could,” chief economist Ken Simonson said in a public statement. “The count of states with rising construction employment in the latest month would be still higher if more workers were available.”
Texas, Florida, Arizona, and California added the most construction jobs year over year in pure numbers, while West Virginia, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, Wyoming, and Minnesota added the highest percentage of construction jobs in the past year. Construction employment reached record highs in Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Texas, according to the AGC. Vermont experienced the steepest percentage decline in construction jobs over the past 12 months, while Louisiana lost the most jobs in pure numbers.
On a month-to-month basis, Illinois added the most construction jobs between March and April, while Iowa added the highest percentage of construction jobs. Wisconsin lost the most construction jobs in the past month, according to the AGC.
