As the year ended, construction employment increased in 56% of the reporting metro areas, but many companies struggled with finding skilled workers. Meanwhile, the total spending on new construction dropped as nonresidential losses were only partially offset by increased spending on housing. The statistics, from AGC (Associated General Contractors of America), compared December 2019 versus December 2018.

Construction employment grew in 211 of the 358 surveyed metro areas, declined in 73 and was unchanged in 74, according the AGC. Association officials said many firms report they are having a hard time finding enough qualified workers to hire, which likely undermined employment gains in some parts of the country.

AGC urged federal officials to take steps to encourage more people to pursue high-paying construction careers. These steps include doubling federal investments in career and technical education to expose more students to construction career opportunities. AGC called on Washington officials to establish a temporary work visa program to allow people with construction skills to work in markets impacted by labor shortages.

The Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas metro area added the most construction jobs in 2019 (16,700). Other metro areas adding a large amount of construction jobs during the past 12 months include Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. (12,300); Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev. (9,400); Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas (9,300) and San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif. (8,600).

The largest number of job losses between December 2018 and December 2019 occurred in New York City (-4,500 jobs), Northern Virginia (-2,900); Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (-2,600) and Cincinnati, Ohio (-2,400). The largest percentage decrease took place in Fairbanks, Alaska (-12%, -300 jobs), followed by Longview, Texas (-10%, -1,400 jobs).

AGC also reports that construction spending decreased 0.2% from November to December 2019 as declines in public and private nonresidential projects outweighed a large rise in single-family homebuilding. Association officials noted that its recent survey found widespread optimism about projects available to bid on in 2020 but they urged officials in Washington to follow through on announced plans for infrastructure spending increases.

Construction spending totaled $1.328 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in December, a gain of 5% from December 2018. Private residential spending increased 1.4% for the month, led by a 2.7% increase in single-family homebuilding. Private nonresidential spending declined 1.8% for the month and 0.1% compared to December 2018. Public construction spending slipped 0.4% from November but jumped 11.5% from December 2018.

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