For better and for worse, the Midwest is emerging as a tale of two regions: the one that is regaining momentum on the strength of a resurgent manufacturing sector and the other that is idling on the tracks of a derailed economy.
The disparity is no less apparent in construction employment trends. While Indiana, a beneficiary of the Detroit auto industry's comeback, continues to add more construction-related jobs than any state in the nation, Illinois continues to lose nearly just as many, according to data compiled by Arlington, Va.-based Associated General Contractors of America.