R.I., Mass. construction jobs drop in June from month earlier

CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYMENT in dropped 2.9 percent in June compared with the previous month, earning the state a spot at No. 49 in a ranking of U.S. states by highest percentage of jobs gained during the month. 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 dropped 2.9 percent in June compared with the previous month, earning the state a spot at No. 49 in a ranking of U.S. states by highest percentage of jobs gained during the month. 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. – Rhode Island lost 500 construction jobs in June compared with the previous month, a decline of 2.9 percent that ranked the state 49th in the country for highest percentage of construction jobs gained month over month, the Associated General Contractors of America reported Friday.

Massachusetts, which lost 900 jobs between May and June, ranked at No. 32 for its month-over-month decline of seven-tenths of a percent. Construction jobs in the Bay State totaled 122,900 in June, the AGC reported, while the Rhode Island total was 16,900.

“The overall trend in construction employment remains favorable, with three-fourths of states adding jobs on a year-over-year basis,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist of the AGC. “But the recovery remains choppy, not steady. In June, monthly gains occurred in fewer than half the states and the nation added just 6,000 construction jobs.”

On a month-over-month basis, 21 states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs in June, while 27 states lost jobs. South Dakota had the largest percent increase, at 4.3 percent, followed by Florida, Indiana and Montana, each with 2.2 percent. Construction employment was unchanged in Arizona and New Mexico.

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Year over year between June 2013 and June 2014, the AGC reported that construction employment increased in 38 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in 12 states. In Rhode Island, the industry’s year-over-year gain of 800 jobs represented an increase of 5 percent over last year, the 11th highest year-over-year percentage gain nationwide.

Massachusetts also posted a gain of 800 construction jobs in June, an increase of seven-tenths of a percent. The Bay State ranked No. 37 nationwide on a year-over-year basis.

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