Construction Employment Still Not What It Was Before Covid, Says New Report

Despite the decline of Covid-19 and gradual reopening of the nation’s economy, construction employment as of early this summer had still not returned to the levels seen before the outbreak of the pandemic.

According to a new analysis published by the Washington-based Associated General Contractors, construction employment in June remained below where it stood in February of last year in some 39 states.

The analysis shows Arizona with 174,200 construction jobs early this summer, compared to 176,300 in the month before the pandemic.

Colorado’s June construction numbers stood at 172,400, while in February 2020 it had more than 179,000.

New Mexico, meanwhile, with 52,000 pre-pandemic construction jobs was at 48,700 in the early weeks of this summer.

Two states in the West saw the most impressive job gains, with Idaho as of last month at 59,400 over the 55,000 it had in February of 2020; while booming Utah is now up to an all-time high of 121,200 construction jobs, over the 114,200 it had early last year.

The states with the biggest pro and post-pandemic construction job gaps were Wyoming, which previously had 22,900 jobs and as of June was at 19,400; and Louisiana, with 137,000 jobs in early 2020, and 116,500 in June.

In a statement, Ken Simonson, chief economist with the Associated General Contractors, remarked that the nation’s construction industry remains a “long way from full recovery in most states, in spite of a hot homebuilding market in many states.”

Simonson attributed the job lag to “soaring material costs, long production times for key items, and delayed deliveries,” which he said have been causing “owners to postpone projects.”

By Garry Boulard

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