Mixed news for NC construction
employment - Triad/Triangle
grows, while Charlotte declines
North Carolina Construction News staff writer
Construction spending rose 4.1 percent from Novem-
ber 2018 to November 2019, while industry employment
grew in 226, or 63 percent, of 358 metro areas, accord-
ing to a new analysis of federal data recently released by
the Associated General Contractors of America (AGCA).
Association officials noted that its recent survey
found most contractors are optimistic about the dollar
value of projects available and expect to keep adding
workers in 2020, but they are finding it hard to fill posi-
tions and anticipate it will continue to be hard to hire em-
ployees. North Carolina reported mixed results, with communi-
ties in the Triad area reporting significant growth, while
the metropolitan Charlotte area reported a 3 percent de-
cline, or 1,900 employees. (The Virginia Beach-Norfolk-
Newport Beach area includes some suburbs within
North Carolina, and this community saw a massive 12
percent employment increase, making it the eighth
largest growth area in the country.)
“Both the actual spending totals for November and
our members’ expectations for 2020 point to a continu-
ing uptick in construction employment,” said Ken Simon-
son, the association’s chief economist. “It’s likely that
even more metros would have added workers recently if
unemployment weren’t at record lows in many areas.”
Construction spending totalled $1.324 trillion at a sea-
sonally adjusted annual rate in November, up 0.6 percent
from October and up 4.1 percent from November 2018,
according to estimates the U.S. Census Bureau released.
There were year-over-year increases in all major seg-
ments—public, private residential and private nonresi-
dential. The Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas metro area added the
most construction jobs during the past year (15,400
jobs, 10 percent), followed by Las Vegas-Henderson-Par-
adise, Nev. (11,000 jobs, 17 percent). Las Vegas-Hender-
son-Paradise had the largest percentage increase,
followed by 15-percent gains in Omaha-Council Bluffs,
Neb.-Iowa (4,500 jobs), Sioux Falls, S.D. (1,300 jobs) and
Auburn-Opelika, Ala. (400 jobs). Construction employ-
ment set a new high for November in 71 metro areas
and a new November low in six areas.
From November 2018 to November 2019, construc-
tion employment fell in 77 metros and was flat in 55.
The largest declines occurred in New York City (-6,900
jobs, -4 percent) and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario,
Calif. (-4,300 jobs, -4 percent). The largest percentage
decreases took place in Danville, Ill. (-17 percent, -100
jobs), Fairbanks, Alaska (-12 percent, -300 jobs) and Hart-
ford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn. (-11 percent, -
2,300 jobs).
Here is data for some North Carolina communities, including suburban areas overlapping other states.
(Numbers are employment totals in Nov. 2018, Nov. 2019, the percentage change, the number of employees added (lost) and the national ranking.)
employment totals employment totals
in Nov. 2018
in Nov. 2019
• •
• •
• •
• •
• •
• •
• •
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Mining, Logging, and Construction
Asheville, NC Mining, Logging, and Construction
Greenville, NC Mining, Logging, and Construction
Winston-Salem, NC Mining, Logging, and Construction
Raleigh, NC Mining, Logging, and Construction
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Mining, Logging, and Construction
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC Mining, Logging, and Construction
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Mining, Logging, and Construction
Wilmington, NC Mining, Logging, and Construction
Burlington, NC Mining, Logging, and Construction
Fayetteville, NC Mining, Logging, and Construction
Greensboro-High Point, NC Mining, Logging, and Construction
Rocky Mount, NC Mining, Logging, and Construction
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Mining, Logging, and Construction
4 — JAN/FEB 2020 — The North Carolina Construction News
37,700 10,000
3,500 11,000
39,800 4,300
10,600 8,800
8,600 2,900
5,800 15,700
2600 64,600
42,400 10,600
3,700 11,500
41,400 4,400
10,800 8,900
8,700 2,900
5,800 15,700
2600 62,700
Percentage Change
12% 6%
6% 5%
4% 2%
2% 1%
1% 0%
0% 0%
0% -3%
# of National
Employees Ranking
added 4,700
600 200
500 1,600
100 200
100 100
0 0
0 0
-1,900 8
56 56
89 119
183 183
210 210
227 227
227 227
313
The new spending and employment data comes as
the association’s 2020 Construction Outlook survey
found that for each of 13 project types, more contrac-
tors expect an increase in 2020 than a decrease in the
dollar value of projects they compete for. Three-fourths
of the 956 respondents expect to add workers this year,
while only 5 percent expect a decrease. However, 65
percent say it will be as hard or harder to hire workers
than in 2019, when 81 percent said they had a hard time
finding qualified workers to hire.
Association officials added that labor shortages are
forcing contractors to boost pay, invest more in training
and adopt new labor-saving technologies. But they cau-
tioned that those changes are not enough to allow many
contractors to keep pace with growing demand, noting
many firms report they have raised bid prices or pro-
posed longer construction schedules because of labor
shortages. “The single greatest threat to continued growth in the
construction industry is the shortage of qualified candi-
dates for firms to hire,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the as-
sociation’s chief executive officer. “That is why Congress
and the Trump administration must act quickly to boost
investments in career and technical education and allow
more people with construction skills to legally enter the
country.” View the metro employment data, rankings, top 10
and map. View the 2020 Construction Outlook Survey.
“James River and John Deere are, by far, superior to any other manufacturer we have to deal with.
It’s very surprising how quick we can diagnose a repair prior to ever stepping foot on the job site.“
Check Out Nick’s
Full Video Story Here!
The North Carolina Construction News — JAN/FEB 2020 — 5