Forty-four states and Washington, D.C., added construction jobs from October 2017 to October 2018, and 36 states and Washington, D.C., added construction jobs from September to October, according to www.agc.org.
"Construction activity continues to expand at a steady clip, with employment growing by more than 10 percent during the past year in five states and by more than 5 percent in another 18 states," says Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). "As contractors pay more for labor and most of the materials they use to build, construction costs will climb, potentially dampening future demand for their services."
Texas added the most construction jobs—49,900—between October 2017 and October 2018. Florida, California, Georgia, Arizona and New York also added a large number of construction jobs. Additionally, Arizona added the highest percentage of new construction jobs during the past year, followed by Georgia, Nevada, Oregon, New Hampshire and Florida.
Thirty-six states and Washington, D.C., added construction jobs from September to October, with Florida and California adding the most construction jobs—3,000—followed by Arizona, Georgia, Washington and New York. Iowa added the highest percentage of construction jobs for the month.
Six states lost construction jobs between October 2017 and October 2018. New Jersey lost the highest number of construction jobs—3,800—followed by South Carolina, Oklahoma, Hawaii and Mississippi. Construction employment fell in 12 states from September to October, and Louisiana lost more than any other state—1,900.
