Construction employment decreased in 57% of the nation’s 358 metro areas between March 2020 and March 2021, according to an analysis of government data by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Despite the strong recovery of homebuilding, the AGC said the construction industry’s broader recovery in many parts of the country is being negatively impacted by rising materials prices, supply chain disruptions, and project cancelations.
“Nearly twice as many metros have lost construction jobs as gained them in the past 12 months, even though homebuilding has recovered strongly and the overall economy is in much better shape than it was a year ago,” Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist, said in a prepared statement. “Nonresidential construction is still at risk of further declines in much of the country.
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas, New York City, Midland, Texas, Odessa Texas, and Nassau County-Suffolk County, N.Y., lost the largest number of construction jobs over the 12-month period between March 2020 and March 2021. Odessa and Lake Charles, La., experienced the largest percentage decline in the 12-month period, according to the AGC.
During the 12-month period between March 2020 and March 2021, Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash., and Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind. added the most construction jobs. Sierra Vista-Douglas, Ariz., and Fargo, N.D.-Minn., added the highest percentage construction jobs on a year-over-year basis.
