Twenty-seven states added construction jobs in January, and construction employment is down in 21 states and Washington, D.C., since February 2020 amid labor shortages, according to www.agc.org.
North Carolina added the most construction jobs from December 2021 to January—2,900—and Mississippi had the largest percentage increase of construction jobs for the month—4.5%. Illinois lost the largest number of construction jobs (-7,100) for the month and had the largest percentage decline (3.1%).
Twenty-nine states added construction jobs from February 2020 to January. Utah added the most jobs—10,400—and Montana had the largest percentage increase during that period—11.4%. New York lost the most construction jobs from February 2020 to January (-32,000 jobs), and New York and North Dakota had the largest percentage decline (-7.8%).
“Employment has risen in most of the nation over the past year, but contractors are having an increasingly hard time finding all the workers they need as unemployment hits record lows in more states,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist for Associated General Contractors of America. “The scramble for workers is likely to drive wages and overtime costs even higher at the same time rising materials prices are cutting into already tight margins.”
