Construction jobs nationally saw an increase late last year in some 30 states as well as the District of Columbia, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The gains showed up along the East coast, with New York posting a 1.7% jump for 6,400 new jobs; and Florida seeing a 0.5% increase with 3,300 new jobs.
Louisiana was up by a hefty 2.6%, representing roughly 3,300 new jobs, with Arkansas up by 1.8% for 1,000 jobs. Parts of the mid-central and plains region of the country, meanwhile, endured a range of construction job losses: Missouri was down by 3.0% for a decline of 4,400 jobs, with North Dakota posting the largest percentage loss for December at 6.4%, representing 1,900 lost jobs.
From late 2021 to late 2022, California saw the biggest construction job gains with a 4.6% increase for a significant 41,100 new jobs.
In crunching the latest BLS numbers, the Associated General Contractors of America’s chief economist Ken Simonson noted that home building in late 2022 had slowed.
But, continued Simonson in a statement, “most nonresidential contractors continue to report strong demand and that they would like to add more workers than are available.”
Overall for all industries, according to the BLS, “unemployment rates were higher in December in 7 states, lower in 5 states, and stable in 38 states and the District of Columbia.”
By Garry Boulard
