Construction employment continues to lag in 21 states, despite an ongoing post-pandemic economic recovery, notes a new study just released by the Associated General Contractors of America.
While an opposite glimpse of the numbers shows that employment levels in 29 states have improved since the month before the Covid-19 outbreak, the dormant numbers in the other states indicate that the recovery may not be as widespread as economists have hoped.
“Employment has risen in most of the nation over the past year,” noted Ken Simonson, chief economist with the AGC, in a statement, “but contractors are having an increasingly hard time finding all the workers they need as unemployment hits record lows in more states.”
According to the AGC report, the West has seen the greatest construction employment, with Montana leading the way with an 11.4% gain over February of 2020.
Idaho and Utah were next in lines, with gains of 10.0% and 9.1% respectively. Other states in the top ten growth states were located in various regions of the country and include Mississippi, Maine, Indiana, and Tennessee.
Arizona saw a job increase of 2.5%, with Colorado up by 2%. Texas was listed near the bottom with a 3.8% job loss, while New Mexico recorded a decline of 5.8% since the month before Covid-19.
The states with the largest job losses were New York and North Dakota, both down by 7.8%.
Overall, despite the varying differences between the states, the demand for skilled construction workers continues unabated, notes Simonson, who remarked: “The scramble for workers is likely to drive wages and overtime costs even higher at the same time rising materials prices are cutting into already tight margins.”
By Garry Boulard
