Construction employment remained on a seesaw in April as only 19 states added jobs, 28 states and the District of Columbia had declines and three states maintained March employment levels, according to an analysis by AGC of Labor Department data. The year-over-year figures showed a similar but slightly better pattern, association officials added, as 22 states and D.C. posted construction employment increases between April 2011 and 2012 while 27 lost jobs and employment was unchanged in Rhode Island.
“The close balance between job gainers and losers among states reflects the sluggish growth in construction nationally,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Private nonresidential and multifamily projects have been increasing by double-digit percentages in much of the country. Single-family homebuilding is finally coming back to life in selected locations. But public construction is declining nearly everywhere.”
Read full press release here. The news was covered by the Washington Post, Triangle Business Journal, Business First and ForConstructionPros.