Construction employment declined in 39 states year-over-year in August, the Associated General Contractors of America reports. Month-over-month, 31 states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs in August.
“The ongoing pandemic is prompting ever more private owners, developers, and public agencies to delay and cancel projects,” AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson said in a statement. “The share of contractors that reported postponed or canceled projects nearly doubled while the share who reported winning new or expanded work dropped nearly in half.”
California reported the largest loss of construction jobs with 52,000 year-over-year, a decline of 5.8%. It was followed by New York, which shed 46,000 construction jobs year-over-year, a decline of 11.3%.
Month-over-month, California and New York added the most construction jobs in August, growing by 6,700 and 5,200, respectively. New Mexico had the highest month-over-month percentage increase with a 6.7% increase, or 1,400 construction jobs added.
