Prov. metro construction jobs grow 8% over the year in January

THE PROVIDENCE-Warwick-Fall River metropolitan area ranked 52nd highest out of 358 metro areas for its 8 percent construction employment gain over the year in January, the Associated General Contractors of America said Friday. / COURTESY ASSOCIATED GENERAL CONTRACTORS OF AMERICA
THE PROVIDENCE-Warwick-Fall River metropolitan area ranked 52nd highest out of 358 metro areas for its 8 percent construction employment gain over the year in January, the Associated General Contractors of America said Friday. / COURTESY ASSOCIATED GENERAL CONTRACTORS OF AMERICA

PROVIDENCE – The Providence-Warwick-Fall River metropolitan area ranked 52nd highest out of 358 metro areas for its 8 percent construction employment gain over the year in January, the Associated General Contractors of America said Friday.

Construction jobs in the Providence metro climbed to 21,900 in January from 20,200 in January 2016.

The Norwich-New London-Westerly, Conn.-R.I. metro ranked 138th for its 3 percent construction job gain. Jobs in the New London metro grew to 4,000 in January from 3,900 in January 2016.

The association said construction employment showed a mixed pattern geographically in the latest 12 months, increasing in 219 out of 358 metro areas between January 2016 and January 2017, declining in 104 and stagnating in 35.

- Advertisement -

“While construction employment is growing at a healthy clip overall, there are many pockets of decline across the map and even within states or metro areas,” Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, said in a statement. “These shifts, depending on location, may reflect a shortage of skilled workers available to hire, a lack of funding for infrastructure and other projects, or broader economic trends.”

Nationally, construction employment increased by 184,000, or 2.8 percent over the year in January.

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga., (+8,600 jobs, +8 percent) added the most construction jobs during the past year. The largest percentage gains occurred in the Grand Forks, N.D.-Minn. metro area (+36 percent, +1,000 jobs) and the Lewiston, Idaho-Wash. area (+36 percent, +400 jobs).

The largest job losses over the year in January were in Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas (-8,200 jobs, -4 percent). The largest percentage decrease for the year was in Casper, Wyo. (-22 percent, -700 jobs).

The jobless rate in the Providence metro was 5.4 percent in January, a full percentage point decline from January 2016, but an increase from December’s 4.2 percent, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

The BLS said unemployment rates were lower in January than a year earlier in 205 of the 388 metropolitan areas, including the Providence metro. Jobless rates were higher in 147 areas, and unchanged in 36 areas.

In January, the Ames, Iowa metro had the lowest unemployment rate at 2.3 percent, while El Centro, Calif., had the highest unemployment rate at 19.6 percent. A total of 199 areas had January jobless rates above the U.S. rate of 5.1 percent, including the Providence metro.

The Providence metro’s labor force totaled 675,442 in January, a slight decline from January 2016’s 676,706. The number of unemployed fell to 36,610 from 43,320 in the Providence metro over that same period, according to the BLS.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased over the year in 308 metropolitan areas, including the Providence metro, where it rose 0.6 percent to 570,100 from 566,900.

The largest over-the-year nonfarm employment increase occurred in New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (+158,000), while the largest over-the-year percentage gain in employment occurred in Ithaca, N.Y. (+5.5 percent).

The largest over-the-year decrease in employment occurred in Lafayette, La., (-8,800). The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment occurred in Casper, Wyo., (-9.5 percent).

No posts to display