Construction Employment Declines in 25 States Between May and June, Remains Positive Year-Over-Year

Construction employment declined in 25 states between May and June, even as 39 states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between June 2014 and June 2015, according to a recent analysis of Labor Department data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that the monthly construction employment declines come as Congress continues to search for ways to pay for new highway and transit investments.

“While the year-over-year totals remains relatively positive, the monthly construction employment figures are troubling,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Investing in transportation infrastructure will make it easier for many firms involved in highway and transit construction to add new staff.”

Illinois (-4,700 jobs, -2.2 percent) shed more construction jobs during the past month than any other state, followed by New Jersey (-4,600 jobs, -3.0 percent); Ohio (-3,700 jobs, -1.9 percent) and Florida (-3,100 jobs, -0.7 percent). Rhode Island (-4.5 percent, -700 jobs) listed the highest percentage of construction jobs between May and June, followed by Vermont (-3.3 percent, -500 jobs); New Jersey and New Mexico (-2.7 percent, -1,100 jobs).

Twenty-four states added construction jobs between May and June, while construction employment was unchanged in Wyoming and the District of Columbia. New York (3,300 jobs, 0.9 percent) added the most construction jobs. Other states adding a high number of construction jobs included Minnesota (2,600 jobs, 2.4 percent) and Connecticut (2,200 jobs, 3.8 percent). Delaware (4.3 percent, 900 jobs) added the highest percentage of construction jobs during the past month followed by Connecticut, Hawaii (3.7 percent, 1,200 jobs) and Arkansas (3.5 percent, 1,700 jobs).

Eleven states shed construction jobs during the past 12 months with West Virginia (-12.8 percent, -4,300 jobs) losing the highest percent of construction jobs. Other states that lost a high percentage of jobs for the year included Rhode Island (-9.6 percent, -1,600 jobs); Mississippi (-7.9 percent, -3,900 jobs) and Ohio (-7.9 percent, -3,900 jobs). The largest job losses occurred in Ohio, West Virginia and Mississippi.

California added more new construction jobs (47,000 jobs, 7.0 percent) between June 2014 and June 2015 than any other state. Other states adding a high number of new construction jobs for the past 12 months included Florida (25,200 jobs, 6.4 percent), Texas (18,900 jobs, 2.9 percent), Washington (15,300 jobs, 9.7 percent) and Michigan (14,000 jobs, 9.8 percent). Idaho (12.9 percent, 4,600 jobs) added the highest percentage of new construction jobs during the past year, followed by Nevada (11.1 percent, 7,000 jobs), Michigan, Arkansas (9.7 percent, 4,400 jobs) and North Carolina.

View the state employment data by rank and state. View state employment map.