R.I. construction employment drops

PROVIDENCE – Construction employment in Rhode Island slid 5.6 percent in January compared with the same month last year, the Associated General Contractors of America said last week.
The trade association said the industry employed 15,300 people in January, down from 16,200 the January prior. Still, the number of workers in January 2011 represented a 200-person increase over employment in December. Including Rhode Island, 29 states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between December and January.
“It is encouraging to see more states adding jobs instead of losing them between December and January,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Yet despite those monthly gains, we’re still a long way from seeing the kind of construction employment figures states experienced in 2006 and 2007.”
For many states that lost jobs, Simonson blamed harsh winter weather affecting much of the country in January.