Thirty-seven states added construction jobs from February 2018 to February 2019, and 16 states added construction jobs from January to February, according to www.agc.org.
"Although job growth remains widespread on a year-over-year basis, the combination of exceptionally bad weather and record low unemployment in many states stopped the growth of construction jobs at least temporarily in February," says Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America. "The record number of job openings in construction reported in the government's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for January shows that finding qualified construction workers is still a challenge."
Texas added the most construction jobs—22,700—between February 2018 and February 2019. Florida, Arizona, West Virginia and Georgia 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, Alaska, Arizona and Wyoming.
Sixteen states added construction jobs from January to February, with Georgia adding the most construction jobs—2,300—followed by Florida, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Alaska added the highest percentage of construction jobs for the month.
Thirteen states and Washington, D.C., lost construction jobs between February 2018 and February 2019. Louisiana lost the highest number of construction jobs—5,500—followed by South Carolina and Missouri. Construction employment fell in 33 states and Washington, D.C., from January to February, and California lost more than any other state—7,700.
