The yearly outlook in the construction industry is positive as 39 states posted employment gains in the sector between May 2015 and May 2016. The monthly outlook is less positive, however, as only 19 states added construction jobs between April and May of this year.

 

While overall employment in the southwest saw little growth in May, the construction industries in Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada joined 13 other states that all posted month-over-month and year-over-year employment gains in the sector.

 

Arizona
Construction was one of the few major industries to post employment gains in Arizona between April and May as the industry added 1,500 jobs. That total ranked second in the state, trailing only the 2,100 jobs gained in manufacturing over the same time period. Arizona’s monthly construction employment growth rate of 1.1% ranks 9th nationally, according to seasonally-adjusted numbers from the Associated General Contractors of America.

 

The state added 8,500 construction jobs between May 2015 and May 2016, good for a growth rate of 6.7%. That rate ranks 13th nationally.

 

Despite growth in the construction industry, Arizona experienced an overall decline in employment in May as the state lost 19,400 non-farm jobs between April and May. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate also grew by 0.1% to 6.6%, according to Arizona’s monthly employment report. That is above the national unemployment rate of 4.7%.

 

New Mexico
After posting yearly construction job losses in April — the state’s first year-over-year employment decline in construction since April 2014 — New Mexico rebounded by adding 500 jobs in the sector in May, according to non-seasonally adjusted numbers in New Mexico’s monthly employment report. The state’s seasonally-adjusted year over year construction employment growth rate of 1.8% ranks 33rd nationally.

 

New Mexico’s construction industry added 700 jobs between April and May, according to seasonally-adjusted numbers.The state’s construction employment growth rate of 1.6% ranks 5th nationally during that time period.

 

Overall, employment in New Mexico remained largely stagnant as the unemployment rate stayed at 6.2% for the second straight month. That rate is down 0.4% from May 2015. New Mexico added a total of 2,900 non-farm jobs year over year in May.

 

Nevada
The construction industry in Nevada experienced growth month-over-month growth in May, adding 700 jobs. That amounts to a 0.9% growth rate, which ranks 12th nationally, according to seasonally-adjusted numbers from the Associated General Contractors of America.

 

The outlook is also positive on a year over year basis as the industry experienced 10.1% employment growth in construction between May 2015 and May 2016. That rate equates to 6,900 jobs added and ranks 3rd nationally.

 

Despite the uptick in construction, overall employment in Nevada was sluggish in May as the state’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate rose 0.3% month over month to 6.1%. Still, the unemployment rate went down by 0.8% year over year. It was the 63rd straight month that the state’s year over year unemployment rate trended downward, according to the state’s monthly employment report. Employment in the state went down by a seasonally-adjusted 3,800 jobs month over month in May.

 

“Job trends nationally were also weak in May. All things considered, we suggest that not too much be read into this month’s decline in jobs in Nevada,” Bill Anderson, chief economist for Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, says in the report. “Weakness was concentrated in a single industry, administrative services, and underlying trends remain encouraging. With that said, we will be paying close attention in the months ahead for any further signs of softening.”