While there is a building boom going on in much of the nation as people escape inner cities for suburbs and ex-burbs, the employment levels in the construction industry continue to fall.
Only eight states have regained the number of construction jobs they had in February 2020 and 19 states lost building jobs in January this year, according to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGCA).
During the 12 months preceding February 2021, Texas lost 51,900 jobs, about 6.6 percent of its construction workforce. California shed 36,200 jobs, New York 26,000 jobs. Louisiana and Wyoming also suffered especially large losses.
About 34 percent of the 1,500 firms the AGCA surveyed have cut payrolls in the past 12 months, with only 20 percent adding workers.
More than 75 percent of the firms reported having projects canceled or deferred in the past year.
Only 21 percent said they had landed new projects or expansions to existing ones in December and January. During those two months, California lost another 4,000 jobs in construction; 3,200 disappeared in each of Illinois and South Carolina.
TRENDPOST: A “new” New Deal? While Donald campaigned back in 2016 to rebuild America’s decaying infrastructure, he did not fulfill his campaign promise.
President Biden is also promoting an infrastructure repair movement. What will boost construction employment? AGCA officials said in the statement that the federal government should aid the industry by investing in infrastructure, ending tariffs on crucial building materials, resolving supply chain disruptions, and not imposing needless regulations.
