Construction employment rose in 264 out of 358 metro areas between June 2016 and 2017, with gains especially pronounced in the western third of the country, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., added the most jobs with 18,100, followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif., 10,400 jobs; Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev., with 9,900 jobs; Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash., with 8,200 jobs; and Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla., with 8,200 jobs.
The largest loss of jobs was in Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas, down 5,200 jobs, followed by Middlesex-Monmouth-Ocean, N.J., 2,900 jobs; St. Louis, Mo.-Ill., 2,600 jobs; Kansas City, Mo., 1,900 jobs; and Toledo, Ohio, 1,800 jobs.
"Western metro areas, from southern California and Nevada to Oregon and Washington, logged many of the largest absolute and percentage increases in construction employment in the past year," said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist, in a statement. "In contrast, the metros with the largest job losses were all in the middle or eastern portions of the country."
