Construction employment continued to shrink in
most American communities, according to the Associated General Contractors.
Construction employment continued to shrink in most American
communities, according to the Associated General Contractors. The association
reports that 313 out of 337 metro areas lost construction jobs between January
2009 and January 2010.
“It’s difficult to imagine that many
regions will bounce back when so many construction workers are unemployed,”
said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Worse, with virtually every
city suffering significant construction job losses, there’s nowhere to hide
from what is clearly a construction depression.”
Simonson
noted that Phoenix again lost more construction
jobs than any other city in America.
Steubenville, Ohio
and Weirton, W.Va, experienced the largest
percentage decline in construction employment (44 percent), followed by Grand Junction, Colo., (34
percent); Las Vegas (32 percent); Napa, Calif. (32 percent);
and Santa Cruz, Calif. (31 percent).
Eau
Claire, Wis., added 500 construction jobs, the most between January 2009 and
January 2010, and experienced the largest percentage increase (23 percent).
Other cities adding construction jobs included Ithaca,
N.Y. (9 percent); Michigan
City, Ind. (6 percent); Waterbury, Conn. (5
percent); and Grand Forks, N.D.
and Minn. (5
percent).
The construction economist noted that 230
metropolitan areas experienced double-digit percentage decreases in
construction employment while no city experienced a double-digit increase in
construction employment. Meanwhile, 18 cities nationwide lost more than 10,000
construction jobs between January 2009 and 2010.
Simonson
said the figures underscore the need for new investments in infrastructure as
well as new tax incentives designed to stimulate private sector
demand.
“If we can’t find a way to keep what’s left of the
industry working, construction job losses are only going to get worse,” he
said.
