Albuquerque Is Leading Metro Area for new Construction Jobs

Albuquerque is placed in the top ten in terms of the percentage of construction employment gains over the last year, according to a new survey.

The Associated General Contractors of America has released a new report putting the Duke City  in 7th place for the number of new construction jobs added between October of 2020 and October of this year.

The report shows that 3,600 jobs were added to the construction payroll in the city, going from 24,900 jobs a year ago to more than 28,500 today, for an overall 14% gain.

Of the other nine cities making up the top 10 job gainers, five were located in the West.

According to a press release accompanying the report, nearly “two out of three U.S. metro areas added construction jobs between October 2020 and October 2021.”

AGC officials remarked that job gains would have “likely been larger and more widespread if firms weren’t dealing with the twin challenges of supply chain problems and labor shortages.”

Altogether, construction employment was up in 236 of the 358 metro areas surveyed.

The largest percentage losses were recorded in the Midwest and Middle Atlantic metro areas, with the top 5 cities seeing declines of anywhere from 8% to 17%.

Looking at the larger New Mexico numbers, Albuquerque’s strong construction job gains were slightly offset by the loss of around 100 jobs in Santa Fe. Las Cruces remained even with around 3,600 jobs between October 2020 and this October.

Colorado posted construction job gains of between 2% and 8% in its major metro areas, although Grand Junction suffered a 7% decline.

In a statement, Ken Simonson, chief economist with the AGC, said that while the overall numbers show that the industry is “recovering from the lows of 2020 in much of the country, the pandemic is still causing major supply chain problems and is keeping some workers from seeking employment.”

​By Garry Boulard

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