The Phoenix metro area saw the most construction jobs nationally between February of 2023 and the second month of this year, notes a new industry analysis.
According to the Associated General Contractors of America, the Phoenix area, which for the purposes of the study includes the cities of Mesa and Scottsdale, added 7,300 new jobs during that one-year period.
Those numbers were far and away the strongest when compared with any other area or region of the country, although the Fort Worth and Arlington, Texas area saw 6,300 new jobs; followed by Baton Rouge with a construction employment gain of 4,400.
Altogether, according to the analysis, construction employment was up in 227 metro areas out of a total of 358 studied.
In a statement, Ken Simonson observed: “Construction employment has posted steady increases nationally and in most metro areas, but the industry will need even more workers to meet the demand for nearly every project type.”
Continued Simonson, who is the AGC’s chief economist, “Construction spending increased more than 10% from February 2023 to February 2024, suggesting the industry will want to hire more workers in many markets.”
Among the other big gainers: the Austin-Round Rock region, with 4,300 new jobs; and the swath between Riverside and San Bernadino, California, up by 4,300 jobs.
Overall, Arizona saw a 4% increase in construction jobs in the last year, while Colorado was down marginally by 1%, and New Mexico saw a 4% gain.
While the most significant job growth was seen in the states of the West, parts of the East coast and Midwest recorded rather startling construction employment losses. New York City was off by 9,800 jobs, followed by a 7,000-job loss in the metro area shared by Minneapolis and St. Paul.
The Gotham City decline was partly explained earlier this year by the New York Times, noting that many of New York’s most ambitious office building projects are “on hold for the foreseeable future,” resulting in the city potentially not seeing a “significant number of large office towers opening their doors until the 2030s.”
Another Midwest construction employment downer was seen in Columbus, Ohio, with a decline of 3,000.
Interrupting the East coast/Midwest decline pattern was Denver, which, combined with the cities of Aurora and Lakewood, recorded a loss of 3,100 jobs.
By Garry Boulard