Construction Employment declines in 48 states

09-19-2009 • Wabash Valley Journal of Business

“Construction employment continues to shrink at an alarming rate,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the association. “I don’t expect much improvement in construction employment until stimulus money flows more broadly, the federal-aid highway program is renewed, and home building gains momentum.” The five biggest percentage losses in construction employment over the year occurred in Arizona (27 percent, or 50,000 jobs), Nevada (25 percent, or 29,500 jobs), and three states with 22 percent losses: Connecticut (14,300 jobs), Kentucky (18,300 jobs) and Tennessee (28,300 jobs). He noted that 41 states saw double-digit percentage decreases in construction employment for the year (The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics combines construction with mining and logging in Delaware, Nebraska, Tennessee and four other locations to prevent disclosing information about industries with few employees.)