Construction Employment Increases in 38 States Between January 2013 and 2014

Construction firms added jobs in 38 states between January 2013 and January 2014, while 27 states experienced construction employment gains between December and January, according to an analysis this week by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) of Labor Department data.

“Especially considering the fact many parts of the country experienced very harsh weather in January, these construction jobs figures are particularly robust,” says Ken Simonson, chief economist for the AGC. “Yet some of these gains will be at risk if federal transportation funding comes to halt this summer as predicted.”

Kansas led all states with a 10.7 percent rise (5,900 jobs) in construction employment between January 2013 and January 2014. Other states adding a high percentage of new construction jobs included Oregon (9.4 percent, 6,600 jobs); Florida (9.2 percent, 32,700 jobs); Minnesota (9.2 percent, 8,900 jobs) and Alaska (9.1 percent, 1,500 jobs). Florida added the most jobs for the year, followed by California (27,300 jobs, 4.4 percent); Texas (26,000 jobs, 4.3 percent) and Ohio (11,600 jobs, 6.3 percent).

Nine states and the District of Columbia lost jobs between January 2013 and 2014, while construction employment was un-changed in three other states. Wyoming (-5.9 percent, -1,300 jobs) experienced the largest annual percentage loss, followed by West Virginia (-5.4 percent, -1,900 jobs); New Hampshire (-4.4 percent, -1,000 jobs) and Washington, D.C. (-4.3 percent, -600 jobs). Indiana (-3,700 jobs, -3.0 percent) lost the most jobs for the year, followed by West Virginia, Wyoming and New Jersey (-1,300 jobs, -1.0 percent).