by jbs011110 b3 — January 13, 2010—Construction employment declined in 324 out of 337 metropolitan areas in 2009 as spending on construction projects dropped by over $137 billion in November to a six-year low of $900 billion, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of newly released figures from the Census Bureau. AGCA said construction spending dropped 13.2 percent compared to 2008.
Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, noted that the federal figures (.pdf file) show developer-financed construction suffered the largest decline in spending between November 2008 and November 2009. He added that private lodging investments were down 46 percent; retail, warehouse and farm spending were down 41 percent; and private office construction investments were down 39 percent.
A recovery in homebuilding may spark some improvement in retail construction later this year, and higher education and hospital construction may come back in the second half of 2010, the economist suggested.
Simonson noted that public construction benefited from federal stimulus funds, with a year-over-year increase of 2.7 percent. He predicted, however, those gains will continue to be tempered by sharp cutbacks in projects funded directly by states, local governments and school systems.
Of the six metropolitan areas with an increase in construction employment during the past 12 months, only two areas had gains of more than 100 jobs: Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA (1,500 jobs, 12 percent gain) and Tulsa, OK (700 jobs, 3 percent gain.) Four metro areas had gains of 100 jobs each in construction: Anderson, IN (6 percent); Columbus, IN (5 percent); Bismarck, ND (3 percent) and Fargo, ND, including nearby areas in Minnesota (1 percent).
