Charlotte gains construction jobs in 2013, as N.C. drops workers

CHARLOTTE – Between December 2012 and December 2013, the Charlotte metro area added more than 3,000 construction jobs, while North Carolina as a whole lost 3,700 jobs, according to a new report from the Associated General Contractors of America.

In December, the Charlotte area had 42,500 people working in construction, an 8 percent increase over the 39,400 workers reported in the area in December 2012, according to the AGC. Out of 339 metro areas surveyed by the organization, Charlotte ranked 47^th in year-over-year job growth.

(Related: For want of qualified workers.)

Over the same period, the state lost 3,700 jobs, falling to 166,400 construction employees in December from 170,100 in December 2012, a 2.2 percent drop. Out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, N.C. ranked 45th. The rankings were based on percentage of total jobs lost or gained.

The only areas that lost a higher percentage of jobs year over year than N.C. were Montana, where jobs dropped 2.3 percent; New Jersey, down 2.5 percent; Kentucky, down 3.1 percent; Pennsylvania, down 3.3 percent; Indiana, down 4.5 percent; and the District of Columbia, down 5.1 percent, based on AGC numbers. Of those, the state that lost the most jobs – 7,600 – was Pennsylvania.

Over the same period, 34 states gained jobs, one state held steady and 15 states lost jobs. Mississippi added the largest percentage of construction positions, up 17.7 percent from December 2012. California and Florida added the most jobs, with 28,900 and 28,800 jobs, respectively.

“While the year-over-year numbers are encouraging, we want to make sure the monthly declines are more about the weather than they are a sudden downturn in demand,” Ken Simonson, the AGC’s chief economist, said in the report. “While we will have to wait for more data to understand where the market is heading, the industry could certainly benefit from more private-sector activity and public-sector investments.”