State and Metro Construction Information

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Construction employment rose in December in 23 states, fell in 24 plus D.C., and was flat in Connecticut, Mississippi and Maine. Over the year, construction employment rose in 28 states plus D.C. (the most places with gains since November 2007), fell in 21 and remained unchanged in North Carolina. The largest 12-month percentage gains in construction employment were in North Dakota (24%, 5,100 jobs); Indiana (12%, 13,600 jobs); and West Virginia (10%, 3,000 jobs). California added the largest number of jobs during the year (21,300 jobs, 3.9%), followed by Indiana. The steepest declines occurred in New Mexico (-14%, -6,000 jobs); Delaware (-6%, -1,100 jobs); and Georgia (-5%, -6,400 jobs). The largest number of jobs disappeared in Georgia, Texas (-6,300 jobs, -1.1%) and New Mexico. (BLS combines mining and logging with construction to prevent disclosure of data in industries with few employers in Delaware, New Mexico, four other states and D.C.)

Construction employment rose in 128 of 337 metro areas for which BLS provides industry data (including divisions of larger areas), fell in 148 and was stable in 61, an AGC analysis showed. BLS combines mining and logging with construction in most metro areas to avoid disclosing data about industries with few employers. Lake County-Kenosha County, Ill.-Wis., added both the most and the highest percentage of new construction jobs (33%, 3,900 construction jobs). Other areas adding a large number of jobs included Edison-New Brunswick, N.J. (3,700 combined jobs, 11%) and Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash. (3,600 combined jobs, 8%). The largest job losses were in the city of Philadelphia (-4,800 combined jobs, -7%); New York City (-4,600 combined jobs, -4%); and Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (-4,500 combined jobs, -4%). The Logan, Utah-Idaho area (-23%, -700 combined jobs) lost the highest percentage, followed by Wilmington, N.C. (-20%, -1,800 combined jobs).

The Key Role of Construction in Each State's Economy

AGC has compiled on the role of the construction in the economy and employment in the United States, each state and major metro areas. Click on a state to see fact sheet(s) for it.

Data Sources

U.S. Map AK AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC ND NE NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV WY

Last Updated – September 9, 2011