Construction employment declined in 11 of 13 NC metropolitan areas between July 2011 and July 2012. Only 2 metro areas increased in construction jobs according to a new analysis of federal employment data released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said that the new data comes out as many metro areas continue to struggle with constricting public sector budgets and uneven private sector growth.
“Construction employment is healthy in the handful of areas where private sector demand is on the rebound,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “However, construction employment in most metro areas is suffering from the effects of tepid private sector demand and shrinking public sector construction budgets.”
The largest job losses in NC were in Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News (-4,400 jobs, -12 percent) followed byWilmington(-1,400 jobs, -15 percent); Raleigh-Cary (-600 jobs, -2 percent);Asheville(-200 jobs, -3 percent), Durham-Chapel Hill (-200 jobs, -3 percent andWinston-Salem(-200 jobs, -2 percent). TheWilmingtonarea (-15 percent) lost the highest percentage of construction jobs in the state.
Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill added the highest number of new construction jobs (1,300 jobs, 3 percent) followed Greensboro-High Point (600 jobs, 4 percent).
North Carolina has lost 3,900 construction jobs over the past 12 months, according to the AGC report. The losses represent a 2 percent decline for the state’s construction workforce.
Read More. View construction employment figures by state.