Construction employment decreased from June to July in 26 states and the District of Columbia as earlier widespread job gains gave way to more project cancellations, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government employment data. Association officials said construction employment is likely to continue falling in many parts of the country without new federal recovery measures, including liability reform and new infrastructure funding. “Renewed outbreaks of coronavirus in numerous states likely caused many project owners and investors to pull back on planned construction,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Meanwhile, budget problems in … Read more

Construction employment increased by 20,000 jobs in July but the gains were limited to housing, while employment related to infrastructure and nonresidential building construction slipped by 4,000, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data. Association officials cautioned that non-housing construction job losses will continue unless the federal government provides infrastructure funding for state and local budgets, enacts liability reforms and other relief measures. “It is gratifying that the construction industry continued to add jobs in July, but last month’s gains were entirely in residential building and specialty trades,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s … Read more

Construction employment increased by 158,000 jobs in June, but employment related to infrastructure slipped, according to a newly released analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data. Association officials cautioned that additional infrastructure-building job losses are inevitable unless the federal government replenishes depleted state and local budgets for roads and other public works.   “The gain in construction employment in June was concentrated in homebuilding, with scattered increases in nonresidential building, while heavy and civil engineering construction employment—the category that includes many highway and other infrastructure workers—shrank by nearly 10,000 jobs,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief … Read more