Sunday, November 24, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Friday, January 18, 2019
Hawaii Construction Employment Down 4.8% for 2018
By News Release @ 5:35 PM :: 5668 Views :: Economy, Hawaii Statistics, Labor

CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYMENT INCREASES IN DECEMBER 2018 IN 43 STATES AND D.C.; 26 STATES ADD CONSTRUCTION JOBS FROM NOVEMBER TO DECEMBER

Texas and Connecticut Have Biggest Number and Percent of Annual Job Gains as South Carolina Lags; Florida and South Dakota Have Largest One-Month Gains, While Iowa Has Largest Decreases

News Release from AGC, Jan 18, 2019

Forty-three states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between December 2017 and December 2018, while 36 states added construction jobs between November and December, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data released today. Association officials cautioned that growing labor shortages and trade disputes were leading to higher construction costs.

"The construction industry ended 2018 in good shape in nearly all parts of the country, and contractors are optimistic about the volume of work available in 2019," stated chief economist Ken Simonson. "But finding workers to execute those projects is likely to be a major challenge"

Nearly four out of five construction firms expect to add employees in 2019, the economist said, based on the 2019 Construction Hiring and Business Outlook Survey that the association conducted with Sage and released on January 2. At the same time, 78 percent of the survey's 1,312 respondents said their firm was have a hard time filling positions, and two-thirds of the respondents reported they expect it will as hard or harder to hire workers in 2019.

The economist noted that job openings in construction totaled 285,000 at the end of November, the highest November level in the 18 years that the Labor Department has published the series. The number of unemployed jobseekers with recent construction experience—375,000—was the lowest yet for that month. Together, these figures suggest contractors in many states cannot find experienced workers to fill vacancies, Simonson said.

Texas added the most construction jobs in 2018 (46,800 jobs, 6.4 percent), followed by. Other states adding a large number of construction jobs in 2018 include Florida (34,900 jobs, 6.7 percent), California (21,700 jobs, 2.6 percent), Georgia (21,500 jobs, 11.3 percent) and Arizona (18,900 jobs, 12.5 percent). Connecticut added the highest percentage of construction jobs in 2018 (16.9 percent, 9,700 jobs), followed by Wyoming (14.9 percent, 2,900 jobs), Arizona, Nevada (12.3 percent, 10,600 jobs), North Dakota (11.6 percent, 2,900 jobs) and Georgia. Construction employment reached a record high in five states: Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas.

Six states shed construction jobs in 2018, while construction employment was unchanged in Mississippi. The largest decline occurred in South Carolina (-5,100 jobs, -5.0 percent), followed by Hawaii (-1,800 jobs, -4.8 percent) and Missouri (-1,200 jobs, -1.0 percent). South Carolina had the steepest percentage job loss for the year, followed by Hawaii, Alaska (-2.5 percent, -400 jobs) and Maine (-2.1 percent, -600 jobs).

Among the 36 states with one-month job gains between November and December, Florida had the largest pickup (6,100 jobs, 1.1 percent), followed by Texas (4,500 jobs, 0.6 percent), Indiana (3,900 jobs, 2.7 percent) and Georgia (2,700 jobs, 1.3 percent). South Dakota added the highest percentage of construction jobs for the month (4.9 percent, 1,200 jobs), followed by Rhode Island (4.1 percent, 800 jobs), Connecticut (3.3 percent, 2,100 jobs) and Indiana.

Construction employment decreased from November to December in 11 states and was unchanged in Alaska, Idaho, New Hampshire and D.C. Iowa lost the largest number and percentage of construction jobs (-1,900 jobs, -2.3 percent). Two states each lost 1,300 jobs: Massachusetts (-0.8 percent) and California (-0.2 percent). Maine had the second-steepest percentage loss (-2.1 percent, -600 jobs), followed by North Dakota (-1.1 percent, -300 jobs).

Association officials said the higher cost of projects could dampen future private and public sector demand. They urged Washington officials to increase funding for career and technical education and to quickly resolve trade disputes. "While demand remains strong for now, there is a real chance that higher construction costs will make new projects less viable," said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association's chief executive officer. "Getting more people into high-paying construction careers and easing trade disputes will help keep construction costs in check."

View the state employment data by rank and state. View the state employment map

###

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii