IES Blog

Construction booms in some areas, slumps in others

Posted on January 30th, 2013 Read time: 1 minutes

Construction jobs increased in 139 of 337 metropolitan areas between December 2011 and December 2012, according to the Associated General Contractors of America, while 131 cities saw numbers declines.

The association noted private sector employment played a major role in hiring growth.

“Private sector demand for energy, health care, higher education and residential construction is having a positive impact in a growing number of metro areas,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Unfortunately, construction employment in almost as many metro areas appears to be suffering from declining public sector demand and a private sector market that is still well-below peak levels.”

With a jobs increase of 42 percent,or 1,900 new jobs, Pascagoula, Mississippi, saw the highest percentage of new jobs while and with 17,600 new positions, Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas added the most jobs. Other areas that saw high increases include Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, Lafayette, Louisiana, and Omaha-Council Bluffs.

The housing market’s recovery, coupled with high demand for healthcare, energy and higher education facilities increased construction in some areas.

According to The Associated Press, the adjusted rate for construction on houses and apartments in December was 12.1 percent higher than November’s annual rate.

Related Articles