CONSTRUCTION JOBS CONTINUE IMPROVEMENT

Jobs in construction continue to increase.

Construction employment increased in 43 states including the District of Columbia since last year, the Labor Department said Friday, a bit of good news for a sector still struggling with the effects of the Great Recession.
While broad gains in construction jobs were spread nationwide in October’s data, for the year, the Pacific region stood out. Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, said high-tech industries are driving activity in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, while the Gerald Desmond bridge replacement project has been a boon to the Los Angeles area.
.......................................................
Home construction remains sluggish as millennials spend longer living at home or choose downtown residences over the suburbs, tamping down demand for newly built homes.
.......................................................
In October’s data, West Virginia was an outlier to the generally positive construction trend: building jobs plummeted by 5,800 or 17% over the past year. Its plunge in construction employment is due to the economic hit from the large pullback in oil and gas production, said James Diffley, a senior director at IHS Economics,... *

The report referenced above does not mention that even with a lower level of construction than in 2006, construction is feeling a pinch for qualified workers as many construction workers are retiring and many Mexican workers are staying home.**

* http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/11/20/where-construction-jobs-are-booming/?mod=djemRTE_h
** http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2015/09/housing-and-labor-shortage.html