Twenty-seven states and Washington, D.C., added construction jobs in July as contractors continued to struggle to find workers, according to Associated General Contractors of America. Forty-five states and Washington, D.C., added construction jobs during the past year.
“Construction job gains were nearly ubiquitous over the past year,” said Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist. “While barely half the states added construction employees in July, that is due to the sector’s ultra-low unemployment rate. There is still plenty of demand, as shown by near-record construction job openings.”
Texas added the most construction jobs from June to July—4,700—and Nebraska had the largest percentage increase of construction jobs for the month—3.1%. During the past 12 months, Texas added the most construction jobs—25,200—and Arkansas had the largest percentage increase—10.1%
Washington lost the largest number of construction jobs (-2,500) for the month, and Maine had the largest percentage decline (-2.7%). During the past 12 months, Colorado lost the most construction jobs (-3,000) and North Dakota and Colorado had the largest percentage decline (-1.6%).
