Most of the southwestern states saw construction job increases between April of last year and this most recent April of anywhere from 1.2% to 3.7%, while the booming mountain states boomed some more with job gains of 5.5% to 8.5%.
Those figures, just compiled in a report by the Associated General Contractors of America, show that the vast majority of states realized construction job increases in the last year, with only 11 states, along with the District of Columbia, recording losses.
The greatest gains were all to the west of the Mississippi River with Nevada seeing an 8.5% increase and South Dakota up by 10.5% By far the greatest jump came out of the nation’s geographically largest state, Alaska, posting a historic gain of exactly 18%.
Alaska’s strong numbers, says analysts, has been fueled by oil and gas development projects, as well as infrastructure work.
Looking at things from the opposite perspective, the AGC report shows general construction job declines in most of the Middle Atlantic states and parts of the Midwest, with New York off by 1.8%; Pennsylvania down by 0.2%; Maryland, dropping 4%; Ohio, down by 2.8%; and Illinois with a 0.3% decline.
The only other Western states seeing construction job losses were North Dakota with a 0.4% drop; Colorado, off by 2.8%; Oregon, showing a 0.6% decline; and Washington off by 1.8%.
New Mexico posted a 1.2% gain, followed by Arizona at 2.7%, and Texas with a strong 3.7% jump. Colorado’s construction job decline, meanwhile, has been variously attributed to a drop in private hiring, as well as the onerous effects of increased interest rates.
Looking at things from a month-to-month basis, said the AGC report, showed that “construction employment rose in 29 states, declined in 18 states and the District of Columbia, and was unchanged in Mississippi, Rhode Island, and South Carolina.”
By Garry Boulard
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