Construction employment decreased in 26 states and the District of Columbia between June and July, according to an analysis of government data by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Job gains that had been experienced in recent months gave way to more project cancellations during July.
“Renewed outbreaks of coronavirus in numerous states likely caused many project owners and investors to pull back on planned construction,” AGC chief economist Ken Simonson said in a prepared statement.
California lost the most construction jobs between June and July in pure numbers, followed by Texas. New Mexico and Vermont experienced the largest percentage decrease in industry employment on a month-to-month basis. New York added the most construction jobs in pure numbers and experienced the largest percentage gain in industry employment from June to July, according to the AGC.
On a year-over-year basis, construction employment decreased in 39 states between July 2019 and July 2020. California lost the most construction jobs in the past 12 months and Vermont experienced the largest percentage decline between July 2019 and July 2020.
The AGC cautioned that more coronavirus (COVID-19) case flare-ups across the country likely means there will be further project cancellations, forcing contractors to lay off workers again.
