Construction firms added jobs in 45 states and the District of Columbia between February 2014 and February 2015 while construction employment increased in 33 states between January and February, according to a recent analysis of Labor Department data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that growing labor, funding and regulatory challenges may impact future jobs gains, however. “Construction employment continues to recover in many parts of the country even as some markets have a hard time stabilizing,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “States like Nevada and Mississippi continue to experience significant monthly swings in … Read more

Construction employers added 29,000 jobs in February and 321,000 over the past year, reaching the highest employment total in six years, as the sector’s unemployment rate fell to an eight-year low of 10.6 percent, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials cautioned, however, that construction jobs in the highway and transit sector were at risk because of Washington gridlock. “Despite challenging weather conditions in much of the country, both the number of workers and their average weekly hours rose last month to the highest levels since the recession,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief … Read more