Construction employment on Long Island saw a year-over-year increase for the eighth month in a row in October, according to a new report from the Associated General Contractors of America.
Nassau and Suffolk counties gained 2,700 construction jobs from Oct. 2023 to Oct. 2024, a 3 percent year-over-year increase, rising from 83,500 to 86,200, the AGCA reports.
Regionally, the number of construction jobs in New York City was down 8 percent, losing 11,300 jobs from Oct. 2023 to Oct. 2024, falling from 145,400 to 134,100, which was the largest drop in construction jobs in the country’s 358 metro areas that AGCA tracks for that period.
Construction employment in the Orange/Rockland/Westchester area dropped by 3 percent, losing 1,200 jobs from Oct. 2023 to Oct. 2024, falling from 46,700 to 45,500, the AGCA reported.
Nationally, construction employment rose in 238 of 358 metro areas, between Oct. 2023 and Oct. 2024, while it declined in 73 metro areas and was unchanged in 47 areas, according to AGCA and new government employment data.
Association officials reported that firms continue to boost pay rates as many of them struggle to find enough qualified workers to hire.
“While roughly two-thirds of metro areas have added construction workers in the past year, contractors would have hired more employees if there were enough qualified applicants,” Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, said in an AGCA statement. “Contractors are struggling to fill openings despite offering above-average wages.”
Metro areas adding the most construction jobs over the last year include the Houston area, which added 17,800 jobs for an 8 percent increase; the northern Virginia area, which gained 9,000 jobs for an 11 percent gain; and the Las Vegas area, gaining 6,300 jobs for an 8 percent rise.
Besides New York City, the metro areas seeing the largest drops in construction employment from Oct. 2023 to Oct. 2024 include the Portland area, which lost 5,600 jobs for a 7 percent drop; the Sacramento, Calif. area which lost 3,200 jobs for a 4 percent decline; and the San Francisco area, which lost 2,800 jobs for a 5 percent drop.
