Construction employment rose from May to June in 31 states and Washington, D.C., but the gains may have stalled, according to www.agc.org.
“The widespread job gains in June follow even more universal increases in May,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America. “But the government’s employment snapshot was based on payrolls during the week of June 12. More recent data collected by Procore on hours worked on job sites suggests employment topped out around mid-June and may have begun to decline.”
Pennsylvania added the most construction jobs from May to June—42,000—and Massachusetts had the largest percentage increase of construction jobs for the month—16.3%. Louisiana lost the largest number of construction jobs (-3,900), and Nevada lost the highest percentage of construction jobs (-3.5 percent) for the month.
From June 2019 to June, 15 states added construction jobs and 34 states and Washington, D.C., lost jobs. Utah added the most construction jobs during the year—10,200—and South Dakota had the largest year-over-year percentage increase—13.7%. New York lost the most construction jobs during the year (-68,300 jobs), and Vermont had the largest percentage decline (-29.4%).
Association officials warned that recent flare-ups of COVID-19 throughout most states mean there soon will be more project cancellations, forcing contractors to lay off workers again.
