Twenty-eight states and Washington, D.C., added construction jobs in September as contractors continued to struggle to fill open positions, according to Associated General Contractors of America. Forty-three states and Washington, D.C., added construction jobs during the past year.
“The construction industry continues to add employees nearly everywhere on a year-over-year basis,” said Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist. “But contractors are struggling to fill openings quickly, which means many states experience short-term dips in employment from month to month.”
Oregon added the most construction jobs from August to September—3,200—and Rhode Island had the largest percentage increase of construction jobs for the month—2.8%. During the past 12 months, Texas added the most construction jobs—19,900—and Wyoming had the largest percentage increase—11.1%
Virginia lost the largest number of construction jobs (-3,800) for the month and Alaska had the largest percentage decline (3.5%). During the past 12 months, Missouri lost the most construction jobs (-6,500) and North Dakota had the largest percentage decline (-5.4%).
