According to an analysis of new federal employment data by the Associated General Contractors of America, construction employment increased in 224 of 358 metro areas between December 2022 and December 2023.
While the numbers were good, they could have been better.
Association officials noted the industry has almost 400,000 empty positions nationwide and likely would have filled some of those jobs if firms could hire additional qualified workers.
“Even more metro areas would have added workers if they were available,” said AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson. “But there were 374,000 job openings in construction at the end of December according to a separate government report, illustrating the difficulty contractors face in filling positions.”
Metro areas that added the most jobs
- Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas added 12,300 jobs (+8 percent)
- Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. added 10,400 jobs (+7 percent)
- Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif. added 10,000 jobs (+9 percent);
- Baton Rouge, La. added 9,100 jobs (+18 percent)
- Austin-Round Rock, Texas added 8,100 jobs (+10 percent)
Metro areas with the largest percentage of jobs created
- Sioux Falls, S.D., 20 percent (2,000 jobs)
- Tulsa, Okla., 19 percent (4,600 jobs)
- Baton Rouge, La. and Danville, Ill., 17 percent (100 jobs)
- Albuquerque, N.M., 16 percent (4,000 jobs)
Construction employment dropped over the year in 80 metro areas and was stagnant in 54 areas.
Metro areas with the greatest job loss
- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas lost 5,900 jobs (-3 percent)
- Orange-Rockland-Westchester, N.Y lost 4,500 jobs (-10 percent)
- Nassau County-Suffolk County, N.Y. lost 4,500 jobs (-5 percent)
- Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo. lost 3,500 jobs (-3 percent)
- 5 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. lost 2,600 jobs (-5 percent)
Metro areas with largest percentage of job loss
- Orange-Rockland-Westchester, N.Y.; Pittsfield, Mass., -10 percent (-200 jobs); Binghamton, N.Y. – 10 percent (-400 jobs)
- Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y., -8 percent (-1,600 jobs)
- Bloomington, Ill. -7 percent (-200 jobs)