Construction employment logged significant gains in most urban areas across the country, according to just-released figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Those figures show that jobs, comparing November of 2021 to November of this year, were up in 258 out of a total 358 metro areas, comprising 75% of those places.
The job numbers were essentially unchanged in 55 metro areas, with 45 of those areas seeing a decline in construction employment.
According to an analysis of the latest numbers released by the Associated General Contractors of America, big Texas has loomed large with the Houston metro area registering the greatest gains with around 18,500 new jobs, and the Dallas metro area up by 13,500 construction workers.
On the West coast, the Seattle metro area saw an addition of 10,400 new jobs; with the booming Phoenix metro area, which includes growing Mesa and Scottsdale, up by 9,400 jobs.
Looking at the job trends as percentages, the AGC analysis shows the Provo-Orem, Utah metro area leading the nation with a 23% gain. The Utah numbers were followed by 15% gains in four cities: Anchorage, Alaska; Kankakee, Illinois; Grants Pass, Oregon; and Providence, Rhode Island.
On the downside: the Orlando metro area, with an 10% decline in construction employment; Richmond, Virginia, off by 8%; and the Camden, New Jersey metro area, posting a 7% decline.
Notes the AGC analysis: “Demand for construction remained relatively strong in many parts of the country, buoyed by robust public construction and infrastructure investments and strength in certain types of private sector development.”
But on a cautionary note, contractors in many parts of the country report that they are “not bidding on projects because they do not have enough personnel to perform the work.”
By Garry Boulard
