Metro-area construction employment grows 4% in May

CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYMENT in the Providence-Fall River-Warwick metro area grew 4 percent in May compared with a year earlier, earning the region a spot at No. 134 in a ranking of U.S. metro areas by highest percentage of jobs gained during the 12-month period. Above, Mike Rothermal of Caldwell and Johnson Custom Builders, cuts trim on a construction site in Jamestown. / PBN FILE PHOTO/KATE WHITNEY LUCEY
CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYMENT in the Providence-Fall River-Warwick metro area grew 4 percent in May compared with a year earlier, earning the region a spot at No. 134 in a ranking of U.S. metro areas by highest percentage of jobs gained during the 12-month period. Above, Mike Rothermal of Caldwell and Johnson Custom Builders, cuts trim on a construction site in Jamestown. / PBN FILE PHOTO/KATE WHITNEY LUCEY

ARLINGTON, Va. – Companies in the Providence-Fall River-Warwick metro area added 800 jobs year over year in May, an increase of 4 percent compared with May 2013, landing the region at No. 134 among the 339 U.S. metro areas in terms of year-over-year net employment gain, the Associated General Contractors of America reported Monday.

Construction jobs in Providence-Fall River-Warwick totaled 21,400 in May 2014.

Overall, 218 of the 339 metro areas nationwide reported construction job growth year over the year ended in May, while 72 metros showed declines and 49 showed no change in employment.

“Construction employment continues to rise in about two-thirds of the nation’s metro areas,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist of the AGC. “However, there are still many areas that have not achieved consistent growth, and very few metros have exceeded previous peaks of construction employment.”

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The largest percentage year-over-year gains on construction employment for May were posted in St. Cloud, Minn., which grew 34 percent and added 1,700, followed by Monroe, Mich., with 30 percent growth and 700 jobs, and El Centro, Calif., with 29 percent growth and 600 jobs.

Cheyenne, Wyo., posted the largest decline, dropping 14 percent and losing 500 jobs, while Gary, Ind., declined 14 percent and lost 2,800 jobs and Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, N.J. declined 13 percent and lost 300 jobs.

Regionally, the New Bedford metro area saw a 12 percent gain year over year, adding 300 construction jobs for a total of 2,900 in May 2014. New Bedford ranked at No. 27 among the nation’s metros for construction employment growth.

In the Norwich-New London metro area, which falls in both Connecticut and Rhode Island, construction employment showed no gain in May compared with a year earlier, ranking the region No. 219.

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