Listen to this articleConstruction employment on Long Island saw a year-over-year increase for the seventh month in a row in September, according to a new report from the Associated General Contractors of America.
Nassau and Suffolk counties gained 3,400 construction jobs from Sept. 2023 to Sept. 2024, a 4 percent year-over-year increase, rising from 84,100 to 87,500, the AGCA reports.
Regionally, the number of construction jobs in New York City was down 6 percent, losing 8,800 jobs from Sept. 2023 to Sept. 2024, falling from 144,700 to 135,900, which was the 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 5 percent, losing 2,600 jobs from Sept. 2023 to Sept. 2024, falling from 48,000 to 45,400, the AGCA reported.
Nationally, construction employment rose in 227 of 358 metro areas, between Sept. 2023 and Sept. 2024, while it declined in 63 metro areas and was unchanged in 68 areas, according to AGCA and new government employment data.
Association officials said that more metros would have construction employment gains if public officials provided more opportunities for individuals to acquire needed skills.
“Every month more than 60 percent of metro areas record year-over-year increases in construction employment,” Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, said in an AGCA statement. “But contractors consistently say they can’t find enough qualified workers despite paying wages that far exceed the private sector average.”
Metro areas adding the most construction jobs over the last year include the Houston area, which added 16,600 jobs for a 7 percent increase; the northern Virginia area, which gained 8,300 jobs for a 10 percent gain; and the Las Vegas area, gaining 6,700 jobs for an 8 percent rise.
Besides New York City, the metro areas seeing the largest drops in construction employment from Sept. 2023 to Sept. 2024 include the Portland area, which lost 4,000 jobs for a 5 percent drop; and the San Jose, Calif. area, which lost 2,800 jobs for a 5 percent drop.
