March 10, 2010

38 states see double-digit drops in construction employment

The American construction workforce was smaller in every state in January 2010 than only 12 months earlier, according to an analysis of federal data by the Associated General Contractors of America.

Thirty-eight states and Washington, D.C. experienced double digit percentage drops in construction employment.

“Construction employment is dropping everywhere and plummeting almost everywhere,” said AGCA chief economist Ken Simonson. “Looking at this data, it is quite clear that the construction industry has yet to hit bottom.”

Out of all the states, California lost the most construction jobs in the past year, 128,700, while North Dakota lost the fewest, 200.

The five states with the largest percentage decline in employment were Nevada (29.9 per cent); Arizona (26 per cent); Colorado (22.2 per cent); Idaho (21 per cent); and Florida (20.4 per cent).

North Dakota (1 per cent); Nebraska (4.1 per cent); Alaska (4.2 per cent); South Dakota (5.9 percent); and Arkansas (6.2 per cent) experienced the smallest declines in construction employment.

-RCD Digital Media

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