Construction jobs increase 3% in Providence metro from year ago

THE PROVIDENCE-Fall River-Warwick metropolitan area added 600 construction jobs in August compared with August 2013,according to the Associated General Contractors of America. Work on the Providence Viaduct downtown has begun. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
THE PROVIDENCE-Fall River-Warwick metropolitan area added 600 construction jobs in August compared with August 2013,according to the Associated General Contractors of America. Work on the Providence Viaduct downtown has begun. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

PROVIDENCE – The Providence-Fall River-Warwick metropolitan area added 600 construction jobs in August compared with August 2013, a 3 percent gain, placing the area at No. 158 in a ranking of 339 metropolitan areas by the Associated General Contractors of America.

There were 22,500 construction jobs in August 2014, compared with 21,900 a year earlier.

That puts the region among 220 metropolitan areas that saw construction employment expand during the year-over-year period. The AGC, in its data released this week, said construction employment declined in 73 metropolitan areas and was stagnant in 46 between August 2013 and August 2014.

Rhode Island had 18,300 construction jobs in August, 1,000 more jobs than in August 2013.

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“While construction spending has been increasing overall in the past year, the gains remain uneven. The industry appears likely to experience very mixed results by segment and region for the rest of 2014 and into next year,” Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, said in a statement.

Nationwide, construction spending climbed to $961 billion from $915.3 billion between August 2013 and August 2014, a 5 percent increase, according to federal data.

In New England, Massachusetts’ Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner area ranked the highest in construction employment growth at No. 12 with a 16 percent gain, adding 300 positions year-over-year, from 1,900 to 2,200 jobs. The Lewiston-Auburn Maine area ranked No. 29 with an 11 percent gain, and Nashua, N.H.-Mass. ranked No. 38 for a 10 percent increase.

Vermont’s Burlington-South Burlington area ranked No. 44 as its construction, mining and logging jobs grew 9 percent, from 5,700 to 6,200. Connecticut’s Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford area ranked No. 51 with an 8 percent gain.

Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas, added the largest number of construction jobs in the past year (10,900 jobs, 6 percent), followed by Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill. The largest percentage gains occurred in Lake Charles, La. (27 percent, 2,900 jobs), and Monroe, Mich. (27 percent, 600 jobs).

The largest job losses from August 2013 to August 2014 were in Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Ariz. (-5,000 jobs, -5 percent), followed by Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Md. (-4,000 jobs, -12 percent). The largest percentage decline for the past year was in Steubenville-Weirton, Ohio-W.V. (-17 percent, -300 jobs), followed by Gary, Ind., (-15 percent, -2,800 jobs) and Redding, Calif. (-13 percent, -400 jobs).
Association officials said that the construction employment and spending data make it clear that the industry continues a slow, sometimes inconsistent, recovery from its years-long downturn. They cautioned that many firms report having a hard time finding enough qualified workers.

“We want to make sure firms don’t miss out on the recovery because they don’t have enough workers,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s CEO. “Ultimately these delays will undermine the recovery by spiking construction costs and delaying project schedules.”
The group released data Friday saying that construction employers added 16,000 jobs and the sector’s unemployment rate fell to 7 percent, the lowest rate for September in years.
Construction employment totaled 6,079,000 in September, the highest total since May 2009, with a 12-month gain of 230,000 jobs or 3.9 percent, Sandherr said.

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