Seven in 10 metropolitan areas saw increases in construction employment in July compared to the same month in 2021, according to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).

Of the 358 metro areas tracked by the government, 250 recorded increases.

“It is good to see construction employment top year-ago levels in more than two-thirds of the nation’s metro areas,” said Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist, in a prepared statement. “However, the record number of construction job openings at the end of June and the near-record low for construction unemployment, as well as our own survey, indicate industry employment would have been even higher if there were enough qualified workers.”

The unemployment rate for jobseekers with construction experience dropped to 3.5 percent in July from 6.1 percent a year earlier, according to Simonson. There were 330,000 job openings in construction at the end of June, the highest June total in the 22-year history of the government data, he said.

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas added the most construction jobs (31,000 jobs or 15 percent), followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (9,900 jobs, 7 percent) and Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, Illinois (8,100 jobs, 6 percent). Cheyenne, Wyoming had the largest percentage gain (17 percent, 700 jobs), followed by Bloomington, Illinois (16 percent, 500 jobs) and Duluth, Minnesota-Wisconsin (16 percent, 1,500 jobs).

Construction jobs declined over the year in 59 metro areas and were unchanged in 49 areas. The largest loss occurred in Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida (-6,300 jobs, -8 percent), followed by Bergen-Hudson-Passaic, New Jersey (-3,400 jobs, -11 percent); Richmond, Virginia (-2,500 jobs, -6 percent) and Baton Rouge, Louisiana (-2,300 jobs, -6 percent). The largest percentage decline was in Bergen-Hudson-Passaic, followed by Monroe, Michigan (-10 percent, -200 jobs); Ithaca, New York (-8 percent, -100 jobs); Charleston, West Virgiana (-8 percent, -500 jobs); and Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford.

Association officials said workforce shortages may undermine the potential benefits of new federal investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, and energy production.

“In much of the country demand is beginning to outpace the supply of available workers,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, AGC’s CEO. “Getting more people into high-paying construction careers will help modernize infrastructure, expand manufacturing and deliver greener, more reliable energy.”

Source: AGC