Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGCA) says construction employment thrived in parts of Northern California, although the rate of growth was not even.
For example, the San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA metropolitan division reported a 14 per cent employment gain — or 5,900 additional employees, ranking it sixth in the nation.
But the San Jose San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara gained just 100 employees, reporting essentially flat employment and a nationwide ranking of 252. Data from other metropolitan areas varied, with most still reporting solid employment growth.
Nationally, construction employment grew in 249 out of 358 metro areas between May 2018 and May 2019, declined in 57 and was unchanged in 52, the AGCA reported. Association officials said firms in many parts of the country would likely have added more workers if it were not for an acute shortage of qualified workers.
“Many of our member firms report they are having a hard time finding qualified workers to keep pace with demand for construction services,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “Even though firms are raising pay, boosting training and adding hiring incentives to recruit workers, many are still struggling to find as many employees as they need.”
The Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. metro area added the most construction jobs during the past year (15,100 jobs, 12 percent). Other metro areas adding a large amount of construction jobs during the past 12 months include Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. (9,200 jobs, 6 percent); Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga. (8,600 jobs, 7 percent); Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (8,200 jobs, 6 percent) and Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev. (6,300 jobs, 10 percent). The largest percentage gain occurred in Monroe, Mich. (25 percent, 500 jobs) followed by Auburn-Opelika, Ala. (20 percent, 500 jobs); Spokane-Spokane Valley, Wash. (18 percent, 2,600 jobs) and Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Ill. (17 percent, 1,700 jobs).
The largest job losses between May 2018 and May 2019 occurred in Baton Rouge, La. (-3,100 jobs, -6 percent), followed by Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, Ill. (-2,800 jobs, -2 percent); Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C. (-1,900 jobs, -3 percent) and Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn. (-1,600 jobs, -8 percent). The largest percentage decrease took place in Danville, Ill. (-17 percent, -100 jobs) followed by Atlantic City-Hammonton, N.J. (-15 percent, -1,000 jobs); Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Miss. (-14 percent, -1,200 jobs); and Longview, Texas (-9 percent, -1,400 jobs).
Here are the detailed listings for the different California regions by rank. (Smaller areas include mining and logging in the totals).
The data includes the market area name, whether it is construction only or includes mining and logging, the May 2018 employment totals, the May 2019 totals, the growth (decline) in percentage terms, the actual employment number change and the area’s national ranking.
- San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Construction 41,700 47,600 14% 5,900 6
- Chico, CA Mining, Logging, and Construction 4,400 5,000 14% 600 6
- Hanford-Corcoran, CA Mining, Logging, and Construction 1,000 1,100 10% 100 21
- Napa, CA Mining, Logging, and Construction 4,700 5,100 9% 400 29
- Yuba City, CA Mining, Logging, and Construction 2,500 2,700 8% 200 40
- Santa Rosa, CA Construction 14,900 16,000 7% 1,100 52
- San Rafael, CA Div. Construction 7,600 8,100 7% 500 52
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Div. Construction 144,700 153,900 6% 9,200 70
- Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA Div. Construction 75,100 79,600 6% 4,500 70
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA Construction 16,700 17,700 6% 1,000 70
- Stockton-Lodi, CA Construction 12,600 13,300 6% 700 70
- Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA Construction 8,700 9,200 6% 500 70
- Redding, CA Mining, Logging, and Construction 3,400 3,600 6% 200 70
- El Centro, CA Mining, Logging, and Construction 1,700 1,800 6% 100 70
- Madera, CA Mining, Logging, and Construction 1,800 1,900 6% 100 70
- Madera, CA Mining, Logging, and Construction 1,800 1,900 6% 100 70
- Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA Construction 63,000 66,400 5% 3,400 104
- Fresno, CA Construction 18,600 19,500 5% 900 104
- Bakersfield, CA Construction 15,900 16,700 5% 800 104
- Merced, CA Mining, Logging, and Construction 2,600 2,700 4% 100 135
- Modesto, CA Mining, Logging, and Construction 10,100 10,400 3% 300 169
- Salinas, CA Construction 6,500 6,700 3% 200 169
- Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA Mining, Logging, and Construction 4,500 4,600 2% 100 196
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Construction 105,300 106,200 1% 900 223
- San Diego-Carlsbad, CA Construction 84,600 85,200 1% 600 223
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Construction 49,200 49,300 0.2% 100 251
- Vallejo-Fairfield, CA Construction 11,100 11,100 0% 0 252
- Visalia-Porterville, CA Mining, Logging, and Construction 6,100 6,100 0% 0 252
- Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA Div. Construction 105,900 105,300 -1% -600 304
- San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA Mining, Logging, and Construction 7,800 7,400 -5% -400 338
1 Area: Metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) are designated by the Office of Management and Budget. MSAs generally cover one or more entire counties or county equivalents or New England City and Town Area (NECTA) in the six New England states. There are 11 MSAs with more than 2,500,000 people. Employment in these MSAs is presented in two or more divisions (Div.) or subdivisions rather than for the MSA as a whole. See Metro Divisions tab for employment in those metros and each of their divisions.
2 Industry: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) only reports construction employment combined with mining and logging in most metros, because of small sample sizes or to preserve confidentiality for industries with few employers. Metro data is not seasonally adjusted.
3 Rank: BLS currently provides construction (or combined construction, mining and logging) employment data for 358 metro areas, rounded to the nearest 100. Thus, it is not possible to calculate percent changes more accurately than to the nearest whole percent and all metro areas with the same whole-percent change in employment are ranked the same. (Exception: Employment changes of less than 0.5% are shown and ranked based on the nearest 0.1%.)
