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Many U.S. Metros See Construction Employment Declines YOY Through October

Dec. 5, 2016
Construction employment declined or was stagnant in one-third of metro areas between Oct. 2015 and Oct. 2016 “amid diminishing public-sector investments in infrastructure and other civil works.”

While some of the national-level data for the construction industry shows the market growing in the mid single digits year-over-year (YOY), the latest local market data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics  (BLS) showed declines in construction employment in some metros.

According to an analysis of the latest employment data by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), Arlington, VA, construction employment declined or was stagnant in one-third of metro areas between Oct. 2015 and Oct. 2016 “amid diminishing public-sector investments in infrastructure and other civil works.” AGC association officials said in a press release that a new infrastructure proposal being crafted by the incoming Trump administration could, if structured properly, help add more construction jobs in many metro areas.

“Too many construction firms that build vital infrastructure projects are finding less work to bid on today than just a few years ago,” Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, said in the release, noting that spending nationally on public construction dropped by 2.2% during the first nine months of 2016 from the same period in 2015.

AGC’s analysis showed that construction employment decreased in 73 out of 358 metro areas and was stagnant in 62 areas during the past year, the construction economist noted. The largest job losses were in Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX (-9,700 jobs, -4%); followed by Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD (-2,400 jobs, -3%); Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA (-2,100 jobs, -2%); and Little Rock, AR (-1,800 jobs, -10%). The largest percentage declines for the past year were in Decatur, IL (-16%, -600 jobs); Cheyenne, WY (-13%, -500 jobs) and Bloomington, IL (-13%, -400 jobs). The dramatic decrease in Houston’s construction jobs was most likely linked to the near recessionary condition of the metro’s energy industry, which continues to suffer from low oil prices and a dearth of new oil & gas exploration activity.

Construction employment increased in 223 metro areas between Oct. 2015 and Oct. 2016. The largest job gains occurred in Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (10,800 jobs, 11%) and Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL (10,800 jobs, 17%), followed by Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (9,900 jobs, 10%) and Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA (9,000 jobs, 10%). The largest percentage gains were in Boise, ID (21%, 4,000 jobs) and El Centro, CA (21%, 600 jobs), followed by Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford and Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV (16%, 8,500 jobs).

Denver is enjoying a surge of construction on all fronts, including a new Gaylord Convention Center being built in Aurora, CO; a Google complex in Boulder, CO; and rapid residential growth, where single-family building permits are tracking at a +8% pace YOY through Sept. 2016 at 7,712, and multi-family construction is up 19% over the same period to 9,324

Orlando is also logging some big numbers in building permits with a 19% increase in single-family permits YOY through Sept. 2016 to 11,132, and a 4% increase in multi-family building to 6,049 through September. However, the big increase in BLS’ construction employment data for the Orlando MSA conflicts with some Oct. 2016 data from Dodge Data & Analytics published this week in the Orlando Business Journal. The article said nonresidential construction activity in the Orlando Metro dropped by more than 50% in October, compared with October 2015, according to a new report from Dodge Data & Analytics. The article said the Dodge data showed that, “Orlando-area construction companies pulled permits valued at $106.7 million in October, a decrease of 51% compared to $219.84 million in Oct. 2015 value for commercial projects in Orange, Seminole, Osceola and Lake counties.”