Across the country, employment in the construction industry is looking up.
Between March 2015 and March 2016, construction employment increased in 44 states, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.
Leading the pack was California, which added 39,000 construction jobs over the year, followed by Florida, New York and Massachusetts. In terms of employment growth, Hawaii added the highest percentage of new construction jobs during the year, with industry employment in the state growing 20.9 percent.
The five states that posted construction employment declines over the year where all states heavily involved with the energy industry, which has been hit hard by falling fuel prices, AGC explained.
“The only soft spots in construction demand and employment are in states that rely on energy extraction for a large segment of their economy,” said Ken Simonson, AGC chief economist.
Builder Online noted that between February and March of this year, 28 states added new construction jobs. Pennsylvania added the most jobs in this period, gaining 6,000 new positions, followed by Georgia, Illinois and Colorado. West Virginia had the highest growth in construction jobs, with a 4.5 percent increase in new positions.