Year over year, construction sector jobs in the United States increased by 248,000 in the year ending in November 2022, a 3.3% increase compared to the November 2021 level, according to a Dec. 26 report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
The gain was reflected in Iowa, where construction sector jobs increased by 2.7% from November 2021 to November 2022, according to the NAHB.
California added 37,200 jobs, which was the largest gain of any state, while South Carolina lost 4,700 construction sector jobs. In percentage terms, North Dakota had the highest annual growth rate in the construction sector by 15.6%. Over this period, South Carolina reported a decline of 4.5%.
Year over year ending in November, 4.9 million total jobs have been added, marking a more than full recovery of the labor market from the COVID-19 pandemic-induced recession. All the states and the District of Columbia added jobs compared to a year ago. Texas reported the highest increase by 5.1%, while Mississippi was essentially unchanged (0.1%) compared to a year ago.
Across the 48 states that reported construction sector jobs data — which includes both residential as well as non-residential construction — 36 states reported an increase in November compared to October, while eight lost construction sector jobs. Four states — Arkansas, Arizona, Maine and Tennessee — reported no change.
