PROVIDENCE – The Providence-Warwick-Fall River metropolitan area ranked 156th out of 358 metros in the United States for its 1 percent construction job growth in December compared with December 2015, the Associated General Contractors of America said Wednesday.
Construction employment grew to 23,400 in December in the Providence metro, an increase of 300 jobs over a year earlier.
The Providence metro was one of 183 metros that saw an increase in employment over the year – that was the lowest number of metro areas with year-over-year job increases since September 2012, according to the association. Construction employment declined in 110 of the metro areas, and was stagnant in the other 65.
“There are two main reasons so few areas added construction jobs last year – they couldn’t find enough new workers to hire or they couldn’t find enough work to require new hiring,” Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, said in a statement. “Spending on critical transportation, sewage and water infrastructure declined last year.”
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas, experienced the largest job loss over the year – 11,200 jobs. Kankakee, Ill., had the largest percentage decline over the year at 15 percent.
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo., added the most construction jobs during the past year at 10,400 jobs. Boise City, Idaho, had the largest percentage job gain at 18 percent.
“The business community is counting on President Trump to act on his pledge to rebuild our aging infrastructure,” Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s CEO, said in prepared remarks. “The fact is, employers can’t compete and succeed if their workers are stuck in traffic and their products are being rerouted around unsafe bridges and crumbling roads.”
