Dive Brief:

• Construction employment has grown in 232 metropolitan areas since April 2014, but it declined in 66 and held the course in 60, the Associated General Contractors of America reported this week.

• Last week, the association released its state-by-state jobs report, which showed 30 states, plus Washington, DC, added construction jobs between March and April, while 18 states lost jobs, and two remained unchanged.

• The greatest metropolitan gains were in Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA, which increased construction employment by 12,600 jobs — 17% over last April, the report said. The New Orleans-Metairie, LA, construction sector, on the other hand, lost 10% of its jobs.

Dive Insight:

AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson credited a rebound in private-sector demand for construction for most of the job growth over the past 12 months.

But he blamed slow action by the government on authorizing funding for federal bridge and highway projects for keeping construction demand lower than its historical peak in most areas. Simonson warned that the federal Highway Trust Fund will run out of money at the end of July without reauthorization.

Both houses of Congress voted late last month to extend the funding for two months — the 33rd extension since 2008 — as lawmakers continue to argue over a long-term transportation funding bill.