This story was originally published in Remodeling.
Construction employment grew in 76% of metro areas analyzed by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) from January 2018 to January 2019, according to a report from the agency. Employment grew in 275 metro areas in the past 12 months, while it declined in 39 of the 358 analyzed metro areas, the AGC finds.
“While construction hiring remained very widespread through January, industry employment gains nationally slowed in February—possibly an indication that the pool of qualified workers has dried up in many markets,” the association's chief economist Ken Simonson said in a public statement. “It will be hard to match this level of employment gains when the unemployment rate is setting new lows in much of the nation and job openings in construction are at all-time highs.”
The Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz., Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga., Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas, and Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas, metro areas added the most construction jobs in pure numbers in the 12-month period from January 2018 to January 2019. Chico, Calif., St. Cloud, Minn., Midland, Texas, and Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio, added the highest percentage of construction jobs during the same 12-month period.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., and Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, Calif., reported the greatest employment declines in pure numbers during the past 12 months, while Danville, Ill., Bloomington, Ill., and Niles-Benton Harbor, Mich., reported the largest percentage declines in employment in the past 12 months.
This story was originally published in Remodeling.
