Metro areas recorded widespread construction job gains in January, with 73% of metro areas (261 out of 358) reporting construction employment growth compared with January 2021, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America.
“Construction employment is now increasing in most areas after a rough first year of the pandemic,” stated Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist. “But contractors recently have had more unfilled positions at the end of each month than they have been able to fill.”
There were 384,000 job openings in the construction industry at the end of January, a 27% increase compared with January 2021. “That figure exceeded the 259,000 employees that construction firms were able to hire in January, implying firms would have added over twice as many workers if they had been able to fill all openings,” AGC noted.
Construction employment declined year-over-year in 58 metro areas and remained stagnant in 39.
The full AGC report can be found here.
