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Posted August 19, 2014

39 States Show Construction Employment Gains

Construction firms added jobs in 39 states from July 2013 to July 2014 and in 34 states from June to July, according to an analysis today of Labor Department data by the Associated General Contractors of America. In the past year, more than 210,000 jobs have been added in construction, the data show.


Association officials said the employment gains are good news, but that the pipeline of skilled craft workers, supervisors and other employees appears to be emptying rapidly. "The overall trend in construction employment has been very consistent in 2014, with more than three-fourths of states adding jobs each month on a year-over-year basis," said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. "However, growing numbers of contractors say they are having trouble finding skilled workers or subcontractors that can supply such workers."

Nevada, Delaware, Florida, Texas and California had the highest increase on a percentage basis. The District of Columbia and 11 states shed construction jobs during the past twelve months, with New Jersey, West Virginia, Mississippi and Arizona among the states losing jobs. 

Association officials said it is encouraging that a large majority of states added construction jobs for the year and the month. However, they cautioned that construction firms in many parts of the country appear to be experiencing varying amounts of labor shortages. "We are at real risk of going from a situation where firms couldn't hire because there wasn't enough demand to firms not being able to hire because there aren't enough qualified workers," said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association's chief executive officer.

Click here for the association's full release

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