AGC officials noted that construction employment is growing in fewer metro areas than earlier this year, but said demand remains strong enough in much of the country that many contractors continue to struggle to find enough workers.
“Job gains were less widespread in the latest 12 months than earlier in 2024 as homebuilders and developers throttled back,” said Ken Simonson, AGC’s Chief Economist. “However, with demand surging for data centers, manufacturing and power projects, and infrastructure, there are still more than twice as many areas with job gains as the number of metros that had a decrease in construction employment.”
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana (7,600 jobs or 16 percent)
- Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada (6,500 jobs or 8 percent)
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia (5,700 jobs or 4 percent)
- Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (5,100 jobs or 6 percent)
The highest percentage gains occurred in:
- Fairbanks, Alaska (32 percent or 700 jobs)
- Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia, Michigan (20 percent or 4,900 jobs)
- Anchorage, Alaska (20 percent or 1,900 jobs)
- Lawton, Oklahoma (20 percent or 300 jobs)
- Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado (down 5,700 jobs, or 5 percent)
- New York City (down 5,400 jobs, or 4 percent)
- Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, Illinois (down 3,900 jobs, or 3 percent)
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin (down 3,800 jobs, or 5 percent)
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Maryland (down 3,800 jobs, or 5 percent)
The largest percentage decreases occurred in:
- Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia-South Carolina (down 12 percent, or 2,000 jobs)
- Columbus, Indiana (down 11 percent, or 200 jobs)
- Bellingham, Washington (down 10 percent, or 900 jobs)
- Decatur, Illinois (down 9 percent, or 300 jobs)
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“The more people who are exposed to the opportunities available, and the skills needed, to work in construction careers, the more people who will start earning a good living in this industry,” said Jeffrey D. Shoaf, AGC’s Chief Executive Officer. “Having more workers will boost local economies and allow our nation to build the infrastructure and economic development projects it needs to continue thriving.”
View construction employment data for all 358 metro areas at agc.org.
