Construction Employment Rises in 212 Metro Areas from September 2022 to 2023
Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, register the largest number and percent of job gains; Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas, and Kankakee, Illinois, experience worst year-over-year losses
Construction employment increased in 212 of 358 metro areas between September 2022 and 2023, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government employment data. Association officials said the figures come as many construction firms work to find new ways to recruit and retain enough workers to keep pace with demand.
“The number of metros adding construction employees has slipped in recent months,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But contractors continue to report they are busy and have large backlogs, so the decline in metros with job gains probably reflects the dearth of qualified unemployed workers, not weaker demand.”