National – Forty-three states added construction jobs between April 2018 and April 2019, while construction employment increased in 32 states and the District of Columbia from March to April, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data released recently.
Association officials said the strong gains show demand for workers remains robust and they urged federal officials to enact immigration reforms to boost the supply of qualified workers.
Texas added the most construction jobs over the year (32,500 jobs, 4.4 percent), followed by Florida (22,600 jobs, 4.2 percent), Arizona (19,800 jobs, 12.7 percent) and California (19,000 jobs, 2.2 percent). West Virginia added the highest percentage of construction jobs over 12 months (33.7 percent, 12,200 jobs), followed by Nevada (14.6 percent, 13,000 jobs), Arizona, Alaska (12.3 percent, 1,900 jobs), Wyoming (11.8 percent, 2,300 jobs) and Minnesota (11.4 percent, 13,100 jobs). Construction employment reached a record high in four states: Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas.
Seven states and the District of Columbia shed construction jobs over the latest 12 months. The largest job loss took place in Louisiana (-8,400 jobs, -5.5 percent), followed by South Carolina (-3,600 jobs, -3.5 percent) and Mississippi (-1,800 jobs, -4.0 percent). Vermont had the steepest percentage decline in construction jobs over the 12-month span (-7.2 percent, -1,100 jobs), followed by Louisiana, Maine (-4.1 percent, -1,200 jobs), Mississippi and South Carolina.
Illinois added the most construction jobs between March and April (7,500 jobs, 3.3 percent), followed by Texas (5,800 jobs, 0.8 percent), Missouri (3,400 jobs, 2.8 percent) and Arizona (3,000 jobs, 1.8 percent).
Construction employment decreased from March to April in 15 states and was unchanged in Alaska, South Dakota and Vermont.
View the state employment data by rank and state. View the state employment map.
