Twenty-seven states and Washington, D.C., added construction jobs in August as contractors continued to struggle with worker shortages, according to Associated General Contractors of America. Thirty-nine states added construction jobs during the past year.
“Construction employment keeps growing in most states despite month-to-month fluctuations,” said Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist. “But contractors everywhere are reporting difficulty filling a wide variety of positions.”
Texas added the most construction jobs from July to August—8,300—and Wyoming had the largest percentage increase of construction jobs for the month—2.3%. During the past 12 months, Texas added the most construction jobs—36,600—and Alaska had the largest percentage increase—17.8%
California lost the largest number of construction jobs (-3,300) for the month and Tennessee had the largest percentage decline (-1.6%). During the past 12 months, Maryland lost the most construction jobs (-4,800) and Maine had the largest percentage decline (-4.7%).
