Construction Employment Down in a Third of Metro Areas
Construction employment declined in 111 out of 337 metropolitan areas between January 2011 and January 2012, increased in 169 and stayed level in 57, according to new analysis of federal employment data recently released by the Associated General Contractors of America. The new construction employment data comes out amid growing concerns within the business community about Washington’s failure to enact a number of long-term infrastructure measures.
“The mixed construction employment results reflect the conflict between slowly rebounding private sector demand for construction and declining public sector investments,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “For every metro area that is adding construction jobs, there is another one where construction employment continues to fall or is stagnant.”