Construction Employment Grows 59 Percent Between December 2018, 2019

Feb. 10, 2020

Construction employment grew in 211, or 59 percent, out of 358 metro areas between December 2018 and December 2019, declined in 73 and was unchanged in 74, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said that many firms report they are having a hard time finding enough qualified workers to hire, which likely undermined employment gains in some parts of the country. 

“There are not enough qualified workers in many parts of the country for firms to be able to keep pace with strong demand for work,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Construction workforce shortages appear to be holding back further job gains in many parts of the country.” 

The Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas metro area added the most construction jobs in 2019 (16,700 jobs, 11 percent). Other metro areas adding a large amount of construction jobs during the past 12 months include Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. (12,300 jobs, 8 percent), and Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev. (9,400 jobs, 14 percent). 

The largest percentage gain occurred in Kansas City, Mo. (17 percent, 4,800 jobs), followed by Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa (16 percent, 4,500 jobs), and Auburn-Opelika, Ala. (15 percent, 400 jobs).

The largest job losses between December 2018 and December 2019 occurred in New York City (-4,500 jobs, -3 percent), followed by Northern Virginia (-2,900 jobs, -4 percent); Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (-2,600 jobs -3 percent).

 The largest percentage decrease took place in Fairbanks, Alaska (-12 percent, -300 jobs), followed by Longview, Texas (-10 percent, -1,400 jobs).

Association officials also said workforce shortages were undermining strong employment gains in many parts of the country, and urged federal officials to take steps to encourage more people to pursue high-paying construction careers.

Source: AGC