Industry's 'uneven growth' continues as 28 states add construction jobs in July

Dive Brief:

Construction companies in 28 states added jobs between June and July, and 21 lost them, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.
Florida added 4,800 jobs construction jobs between June and July, more than any other state, the AGC said. Oklahoma, California and Arizona rounded out the top four gainers for the month. New York lost the greatest number of construction jobs, at 4,500.
Between July 2014 and July 2015, construction employment expanded in 37 states and the District of Columbia.

Dive Insight:

Job growth in the construction industry is uneven around the country, and fewer states have added jobs this year than last, AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson said in a press release.

He said "uneven growth" is limited by "the cross-cutting trends in the overall economy": Tight government budgets, sinking commodity prices, weak demand from overseas, and a high number of project cancelations are holding some states back, even as others enjoy healthy gains.

Even so, contractors in states with the most job growth continue to struggle to fill those newly created positions. And the problem will only get worse, Simonson predicted, as the demand for construction continues to grow.

The AGC has issued a call to education officials to encourage students to train for construction jobs.