Thirty states added construction jobs in July, but construction employment is down in 36 states since February 2020 as the Delta variant of COVID-19 spreads, according to www.agc.org.
“This data shows that full recovery remains elusive for construction in most states,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America. “In fact, the fast-spreading COVID-19 Delta variant may make it harder to find employees eligible to work on restricted sites and may also depress demand if some owners defer projects.”
North Carolina added the most construction jobs from June to July—4,300—and New Jersey and Connecticut had the largest percentage increase of construction jobs for the month—2.7%. Colorado lost the largest number of construction jobs (-1,600) and New Hampshire lost the highest percentage of construction jobs (-2.2%) for the month.
Fourteen states added construction jobs from February 2020 to July. Utah added the most jobs—7,900—and Idaho had the largest percentage increase during that period—8.2%. Texas lost the most construction jobs from February 2020 to July (-56,200 jobs), and Louisiana had the largest percentage decline (-15.3%).
