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Construction Employment Increased in 192 out of 339 Metro Areas Between December 2012 and 2013

Construction employment expanded in 192 metro areas, declined in 84 and was stagnant in 63 between December 2012 and December 2013, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released today by AGC of America. Association officials said that even with so many metro areas adding jobs for the year, only 20 metro areas topped previous construction employment peaks for the month. "Growing demand for apartment and single-family construction was behind a lot of the growth in most metro areas last year," said Ken Simonson, the association?s chief economist, noting that private residential construction spending soared by 18 percent from December 2012 to December 2013, while public sector spending slipped by 1 percent. "Employment in December 2013 was held down in many areas by unusually snowy or cold weather. With the weather and the economy both likely to improve soon, even more metros should post employment gains in the coming months." Read the full release here.