Construction employment remained below April levels in 40 states and the District of Columbia in May 2021, according to an analysis of government data by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Rising material prices and supply-side delays are contributing to lagging employment growth in the industry, according to the AGC.
“Today’s numbers show that impacts from the pandemic on demand for projects and on material costs and the supply chain are weighing down construction in most parts of the country,” AGC chief economist Ken Simonson said in a prepared statement. “In the few states where industry employment has topped the pre-pandemic levels of February 2020, most gains are likely attributable more to demand for homebuilding and remodeling than to most categories of nonresidential building and infrastructure projects.”
From April to May, New York and Pennsylvania experienced the largest decline in pure numbers in industry employment while Vermont, Maine, and Delaware experienced the largest percentage decrease in construction employment. Florida, Michigan, and Minnesota added the most construction jobs on a monthly basis between April and May.
Employment declined from the pre-pandemic peak month of February 2020 in 42 states and Washington, D.C., with Texas, New York, and California losing the most industry jobs in the period from February 2020 to May 2021. Utah, Idaho, and South Dakota have added the largest number of construction jobs since the last month before the pandemic.
