Construction employment expanded in 29 states between September and October, while fewer people are working in construction compared to last year in 39 states. The new figures continue a nearly year-long trend of ups and downs in construction employment as the industry performs stimulus-funded work yet grapples with broad market uncertainty.
Ken Simonson, the chief economist for Associated General Contractors of America says:
“ Construction is no longer in free fall, but the industry remains fragile as improvements vary greatly by state and project type.”
Nationally, more cities added construction jobs this year than in 2009, according to the Associated General Contractors of America, indicating “the worst of the industry’s job losses may be over.”
There are no Florida cities which gained construction jobs over the past year. In Northeast Florida, Ocala and Jacksonville lost jobs — as did most Florida cities — while Gainesville and Palm Coast held steady, not losing any construction jobs over the year.
| City or Area | 2009 Jobs* | 2010 Jobs* | Decline % |
| Gainseville | 4,700 | 4,700 | 0% |
| Palm Coast | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0% |
| Jacksonville | 31,400 | 29,800 | -5% |
| Daytona/Deltona/Ormond | 8,600 | 8,200 | -5% |
| Ocala | 7,300 | 6,500 | -11% |
* Jobs may include Construction, mining, logging
While the above figures represent the 12-month span from October 2009 through September 2010, construction unemployment rate jumped to 18.8% as industry lost another 5,000 jobs nationally between October and November.
Construction unemployment rate is highest for any industry, roughly double overall rate as federal projects remain only bright spot for the hard-hit sector...
source: Associated General Contractors of America & Labor Dept.
