Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas and Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii Have Highest Number and Percentage of Year-over-Year Job Gains, While New York City and Duluth, Minn.-Wis. Experience Worst Job Losses
Construction employment rose in 245, or 68 percent, of 358 metro areas between August 2023 and August 2024, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government employment data. Association officials noted that construction firms are boosting pay faster than in other sectors in an effort to attract even more workers into the industry.
“More than two-thirds of metro areas have added construction workers in the past year,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Nevertheless, many contractors say they cannot find enough qualified workers to fill their open positions, even though industry wages are rising faster than in other sectors.”
Simonson noted that wages for construction employees averaged $38.36 per hour in August 2024, an increase of 4.4 percent from August 2023, outpacing the 3.8 percent gain for all private sector workers. He added that average hourly earnings for construction were nearly 9 percent higher than the all-private average of $35.21.
Construction employment declined over the year in 70 metro areas and was unchanged in 43 areas. The largest job loss occurred in New York City (-8,600 jobs, -6 percent), followed by Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. (-4,000 jobs, -4 percent); Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo (-3,000 jobs, -3 percent); San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. (-2,700 jobs, -5 percent); and Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash. (-2,200 jobs, -3 percent). The largest percentage decrease occurred in Duluth, Minn.-Wis. (-11 percent, -1,200 jobs), followed by 8 percent losses in Ithaca, N.Y. and Grants Pass, Ore. (-100 jobs each).
Association officials encouraged public officials to find ways to expose more students and workers to construction career opportunities. They noted that the industry pays a premium for workers compared to other sectors of the economy and that most positions in the sector do not require a college degree and the debt that typically comes with it.
“Too many students and workers out there have never been exposed to the many opportunities available to them in the construction industry,” said Jeffrey D. Shoaf, the association’s chief executive officer. “As a result, there are too many graduates looking for jobs while countless firms desperately seek workers to fill high-paying construction career positions.”
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