Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs from November to December, according to analysis of government data by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Despite the largely positive month-to-month growth in industry employment, construction employment in December remained below pre-pandemic levels in two-thirds of states across the country.
“While most states recorded construction employment gains in December, the pickup is likely to be temporary for many,” Ken Simonson, the AGC’s chief economist, said in a prepared statement. “Participants in our association’s recent Hiring and Business Outlook Survey expect the dollar volume of most project types available to bid on to decline in 2021.”
Seasonally-adjusted construction employment was lower than pre-pandemic levels in February in 34 states, according to the AGC. Texas lost the most construction jobs over the 10-month period from February to December, while Vermont and New Jersey experienced the largest percentage loss of industry jobs. Of the 15 states that added construction jobs from February to December, Virginia added the most jobs in pure numbers while Alabama and Utah added the highest percentage of construction jobs.
On a month-to-month basis between November and December, Arizona experienced the largest loss of construction jobs and Delaware experienced the largest percentage decrease in industry employment. California added the most construction jobs between November and December in pure numbers while New Hampshire experienced the largest percentage increase in construction employment.
