Construction firms added jobs in 38 states and the District of Columbia between Nov. 2013 and Nov. 2014 while construction employment increased in 26 states and D.C. between October and November, according to an analysis of Labor Department data by the Associated General Contractors of America, Arlington, Va.
"Construction job growth remains positive overall but volatile," said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist in a press release. "Although more than three-quarters of states have added construction jobs from year-earlier levels throughout 2014, the list of states with gains keeps changing. Only North Dakota, Louisiana and Oklahoma have exceeded their pre-recession peaks for construction employment this year, while most states are still at least 10% below previous highs."
AGC said Texas added more new construction jobs (47,300 jobs, +7.7%) between November 2013 and November 2014 than any other state. Other states adding a high number of new construction jobs for the past 12 months included California (40,800 jobs, +6.3%), Florida (34,900 jobs, +9.1%), Washington (12,800 jobs, +8.6%) and Illinois (12,000 jobs, +6.2%). North Dakota (+16.2%, 5,300 jobs) added the highest percentage of new construction jobs during the past year, followed by Utah (+10.1%, 7,600 jobs), Florida, Washington and Arkansas (+8.4%, 3,900 jobs).
Twenty-six states and D.C. added construction jobs between October and November. California (12,900 jobs, 1.9%) added the most jobs, followed by New Jersey (5,200 jobs, 4.2%), Washington (3,300 jobs, 2.1%) and Wisconsin (2,400 jobs, 2.3%). Vermont (8.1%, 1,100 jobs) had the highest percentage increase for the month, followed by Alaska (5%, 800 jobs), New Jersey and New Hampshire (3.6%, 800 jobs).
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