Construction employment declines in 12 of 13 NC metro areas

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Construction employment declined in 12 of 13 NC metropolitan areas between August 2011 and August 2012, and was stagnant in one, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released by the Associated General Contractors of America.  Association officials said that construction employment in many areas was suffering as government and business officials delay projects in the face of federal tax and funding uncertainty.

NC lost 8,000 construction jobs (-4 percent) in the period between August 2011 and August 2012.

“The looming fiscal cliff is already contributing to construction employment declines in many parts of the country,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “We are just not seeing the kind of private sector momentum that the industry experienced earlier this year.”

The largest NC job losses were in Wilmington (-1,400 jobs, -15 percent) and the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC metro area (-400 jobs, -11 percent).  Construction employment was stagnant in Charlotted-Gastonia-Rock Hill .

Other job losses were in Raleigh-Cary (-2,600 jobs, -8 percent); Winston-Salem (-400 jobs, -5 percent); Asheville (-300 jobs, -4 percent); Fayetteville (-200 jobs, -4 percent); Rocky Mount (-100 jobs, -4 percent); Greenville (-100 jobs, -4 percent); Burlington (-100 jobs, -4 percent); Durham-Chapel Hill (-200 jobs, -3 percent); Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton (-100 jobs, -3 percent) and Greensboro-High Point (-100 jobs, -1 percent).

“Even more construction workers are at risk of losing their jobs because our elected officials in Washington aren’t doing theirs,” said Sandherr. “Setting tax rates and prioritizing federal investments may not be easy, but it ought to be far more preferable than letting our economy languish from uncertainty and inaction.”

View construction employment figures by state .

 

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