Dive Brief:

• After analyzing Bureau of Labor Statistics data, apartment-locator website ABODO has identified which U.S. cities are home to the fastest-growing careers, and Houston tops the list for construction employment opportunities.

• Houston is just one of five Texas metros on ABODO's Top 10 list of the best spots for those pursuing construction and extraction careers between 2012 and 2015, reflecting the population boom in that state. Apart from Texas, Denver also showed a high concentration of construction jobs due to residential building activity in the city.

• ABODO said that the national average growth in jobs between 2012 and 2015 was 4.47%, but positions in the construction and extraction categories increased 9.24% for that same period.

Dive Insight:

ABODO also found that construction and extraction hotspots were the least geographically varied of all the occupations it charted, with the smallest amount activity in the Northeast and Midwest. The remaining metros on its list performed close to the national employment average.

In a more measured report, the Associated General Contractors of America found that construction employment grew in only 61% of 358 metros since August 2015 — the smallest percentage in more than three years. Employment also decreased in 76 cities. Similar to ABODO's list, the metros that enjoyed the greatest growth were found in the West and Southern regions of the country, with the greatest increases taking place in Denver; Anaheim CA; and Orlando FL. However, the AGC determined that Houston had the biggest employment losses since 2015.

The AGC chalked up the stall pattern in construction growth to a decrease in demand, not to a shortage of qualified workers. A July-August AGC survey found that seven out of 10 construction companies were not able to find enough skilled labor to meet their requirements, and 75% of those surveyed in 2016 said they expected to have an even harder time finding adequately trained workers next year.

ABODO's full Top 10 list of the best cities for construction and extraction careers includes:

1. Houston
2. Denver
3. Fort Worth
4. Jacksonville
5. Phoenix
6. Seattle
7. Austin
8. San Antonio
9. San Diego
10. Dallas