Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between August 2016 and August 2017, while 30 states added construction jobs between July and August amid strong demand for construction work in most parts of the country, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data released today. Association officials said that more states likely would have added new construction jobs except for the fact 70 percent of firms report having a hard time finding craft workers to hire.
“Firms in most states are expanding their headcount to keep pace with growing demand for many types of construction projects,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the association. “While it is too early to tell what impacts Hurricanes Harvey and Irma will have on the sector’s workforce, there are not a lot of unemployed, experienced workers available to travel to Texas or Florida to help communities rebuild.”
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