North Carolina experienced 1500 (-0.9%) construction job losses in April according to an Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) analysis of state employment data released by the Labor Department. Conversely South Carolina experienced a gain of 1900 (2.5%) construction jobs over last month.
Both North Carolina and South Carolina experienced construction job losses over the past year. North Carolina lost 9700 (-5.4%) construction jobs from April 2010 to April 2011 while South Carolina lost 1600 (-2.0%) construction-related jobs.
AGC cautioned that the fragile construction employment recovery some states are experiencing could be undermined by a pending federal rule that requires many local governments as well as state and federal governments to withhold 3 percent of contractors’ earning for publicly funded work. Combined with federal state and local budget costs, the “Three Percent Rule” is likely to undermine the recover before it starts, association officials warned.
“Forcing contractors to do less work and earn less for that work isn’t a good way to boost construction employment,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer.
View construction employment numbers by state Here.