“Construction continues to grow overall but fewer states are participating in the expansion than was true a year ago,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “The uneven growth reflects the cross-cutting trends in the overall economy, as tight government budgets, plunging commodity prices and weak overseas demand lead to project cancellations in some states even while activity accelerates elsewhere.”
California added more new construction jobs (48,900 jobs, 7.3%) between July 2014 and July 2015 than any other state. Other states adding a high number of new construction jobs for the past 12 months include:
- Florida (26,500 jobs, 6.6%)
- Washington (15,300 jobs, 9.6%)
- Texas (14,400 jobs, 2.2%)
- Michigan (12,400 jobs, 8.7%)
Arkansas (14.9%, 6,800 jobs) added the highest percentage of new construction jobs during the past year, followed by Idaho (13.7%, 4,900 jobs), Nevada (10.7%, 6,800 jobs), Washington and Michigan.
Thirteen states shed construction jobs during the past 12 months, up from only three with construction job decreases a year earlier. West Virginia (-16.0%, -5,400 jobs) lost the highest percent of construction jobs. Other states that lost a high percentage of jobs for the year include:
- Rhode Island (-7.9%, -1,300 jobs)
- Ohio (-7.0%, -13,800 jobs)
- Mississippi (-4.3%, -2,100 jobs)
The largest job losses occurred in Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana (-5,100 jobs, -4.1%) and Mississippi. Construction employment was flat in Vermont.
Florida (4,800 jobs, 1.1%) added the most construction jobs between June and July. Other states adding a high number of construction jobs include:
- Oklahoma (3,000 jobs, 3.9%)
- California (3,000 jobs, 0.4%)
- Arizona (2,400 jobs, 1.9%)
New Mexico (4.9%, 2,000 jobs) added the highest percentage of construction jobs during the past month, followed by Oklahoma, Arkansas (3.6%, 1,800 jobs) and Oregon (2.9%, 2,300 jobs).
Twenty-one states lost construction jobs during the past month while construction employment was unchanged in Virginia. New York (-4,500 jobs, -1.3%) shed more construction jobs than any other state, followed by:
- Indiana (-4,400 jobs, -3.6%)
- Ohio (-2,300 jobs, -1.2%)
- Connecticut (-2,200 jobs, -3.6%)
Indiana and Connecticut lost the highest percentage of construction jobs between June and July, followed by West Virginia (-2.4%, -700 jobs) and Minnesota (-1.8%, -2,000 jobs).
View the state employment data by rank and state.
