The past year has not been kind to construction jobs across the country. The Covid-19 pandemic and other hardships and uncertainties have contributed to the decline.
According to a report released by the Associated General Contractors of America, the Houston area lost the most jobs (37,000), followed by New York City (27,000) and Chicago (13,000).
Employment dropped because of project cancellations, rising material prices and nationwide supply shortages. Odessa, Texas, saw the largest decline in jobs, losing 40 percent.
The report indicates only 83 metro areas added construction jobs over the past year including the Sacramento area which added the most.
In a news release, AGC officials warned the industry will struggle to add jobs if a series of proposed new labor laws, including the PRO Act, were to be put into law by the Biden administration.
“It will be hard for firms to add new employees if they have no idea whether the jobs they are working on will be shut down because of the wide range of labor actions encouraged by the PRO Act,” says AGC CEO Stephen E. Sandherr in a prepared statement. “New infrastructure investments will certainly help the industry, but our members won’t be able to build back better if the work is mired in labor uncertainty.”
