Listen to this articleConstruction employment on Long Island saw a year-over-year increase for the third month in a row in May, rebounding after nine months of declines, according to a new report from the Associated General Contractors of America.
Nassau and Suffolk counties gained 2,500 construction jobs from May 2023 to May 2024, a 3 percent year-over-year increase, rising from 84,000 to 86,500, the AGCA reports.
Regionally, the number of construction jobs in New York City was down 3 percent, losing 3,800 jobs from May 2023 to May 2024, falling from 144,700 to 140,900, which was the third largest drop in construction jobs in the country’s 358 metro areas that AGCA tracks for that period.
Construction employment in the Orange/Rockland/Westchester area dropped by 3 percent, losing 1,400 jobs from May 2023 to May 2024, falling from 47,300 to 45,900, the AGCA reported.
Association officials said that employment levels in some parts of the country have been impacted by changing demand for construction and ongoing labor shortages.
“A pullback in starts by developers of apartments, warehouses, and offices, along with spotty improvement in single-family starts, has held down job gains in some metros,” Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, said in an AGCA statement. “But surging demand for data centers, manufacturing and power projects, and infrastructure mean contractors in many metros are still short of all the workers they need.”
Metro areas adding the most construction jobs over the last year include the Houston area, which added 8,400 jobs for a 4 percent increase; Baton Rouge, La. area, which gained 8,200 jobs for an 18 percent gain; and the Las Vegas area, gaining 6,900 jobs for an 8 percent rise.
Besides New York City, the metro areas seeing the largest drops in construction employment from May 2023 to May 2024 include the Denver area, losing 4,400 jobs for a 4 percent decrease; and the Minneapolis area, which lost 3,800 jobs for a 4 percent drop.
