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News May 24, 2018

Construction jobs added in 38 states and Washington, D.C., during past 12 months

Thirty-eight states and Washington, D.C., added construction jobs from April 2017 to April 2018, and 29 states added construction jobs from March to April, according to www.agc.org.

"Firms in many parts of the country are working to keep pace with growing demand for construction services," says Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). "Many of those firms are having a hard time finding and hiring enough qualified workers as the pool of available workers remains very tight."

California added the most construction jobs—59,500—between April 2017 and April 2018. Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Texas also added a large number of construction jobs. Additionally, West Virginia added the highest percentage of new construction jobs during the past year, followed by Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Idaho.

Twenty-nine states added construction jobs from March to April, with California adding the most construction jobs—10,000—followed by Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and Washington. Louisiana added the highest percentage of construction jobs for the month, followed by Kentucky, New Hampshire, Alaska and Vermont.

Eleven states lost construction jobs between April 2017 and April 2018. North Dakota lost the highest number of construction jobs—4,900—followed by Iowa, Missouri, South Carolina and Nebraska. Construction employment fell in 19 states from March to April, and Indiana lost more than any other state—2,300.

AGC officials said strong demand, particularly from the private sector, was prompting firms in most states to add staff. But officials also cautioned that relatively few young workers appear to be entering the construction industry. They said the strong economy was increasing competition for most workers and construction recruiting is hampered by the fact relatively few schools offer instruction in construction skills or counsel students to consider high-paying construction careers.

"The collective cultural fixation on urging every student to go to college and seek office jobs means relatively few young adults are ever encouraged to consider careers in construction," says Stephen E. Sandherr, AGC's CEO.

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