Fiscal Cliff Puts Construction Jobs at Risk
Between October 2011 and 2012, 156 metro areas lost construction jobs, 127 gained jobs and 54 remained stagnant
Construction employment declined in 156 out of 337 metropolitan areas between October 2011 and October 2012, increased in 127 and was stagnant in 54, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. However, construction jobs in many parts of the country are at risk if Congress and the president allow the “fiscal cliff” to occur, according to a new report the association released today.
“These figures show how spotty the construction recovery has been - even within a single state,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “If taxes hump and federal construction spending is slashed next month, even more metros will have construction job losses.”
Largest job losses:
- Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y. (-5,600 jobs, -9 percent)
- Philadelphia, Penn. (-5,400 jobs, -8 percent)
- Newark-Union, N.J.-Penn. (-4,000 jobs, -11 percent)
- Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. (-4,000 jobs, -10 percent)
Highest percentage of job loses:
- Springfield, Mass.-Conn. (-27 percent, -2,800 jobs)
- Jackson, Miss. (-21 percent, -2,300 jobs)
- Lansing-East Lansing, Mich. (-18 percent, -1,100 jobs)
- Birmingham-Hoover, Ala. (-17 percent, -3,900 jobs)
Highest percentage of jobs added:
- Pascagoula, Miss. (29 percent, 1,400 jobs)
- Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, Mass.-N.H. (18 percent, 700 jobs)
- Mobile, Ala. (18 percent, 1,900 jobs)
- Chattanooga, Tenn. (17 percent, 1,500 jobs)
Most jobs added:
- Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas (17,400 jobs, 10 percent)
- Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash. (6,500 jobs, 10 percent)
- Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass. (6,300 jobs, 12 percent)
- Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (5,100 jobs, 5 percent)
- Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (5,100 jobs, 9 percent)
Association officials cautioned that even more metro areas could experience construction job losses if Congress and the administration allow the spending cuts and tax hikes that make up the fiscal cliff to occur. The report Associated General Contractors of America released today details how the mandatory spending cuts included in the cliff cut over $6 billion worth of federal construction projects next year alone.
Contractors that work on military construction projects are particularly vulnerable, association officials noted, given the $2 billion hit to Defense Department construction projects included in the sequestration. In addition, funding for local highway and transit projects is likely to be cut because the sequestration cuts nearly a half billion dollars out of the Federal Highway Trust Fund. Association officials warned that most economists predict the fiscal cliff would undermine broader economic growth. The tax increases from the cliff alone would increase unemployment and cause the economy to contract, according to the Congressional Budget Office, for example.
