State by State Construction Sector Analysis for March 2021

A deeper dive into the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) nonfarm payroll employment report, with further analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders, reveals that 49 out of 50 states and the District of Columbia experienced an increase jobs in March 2021. Alaska was the only state to shed employment and that was just 200 jobs. Specifically looking at the construction sector on a state-by-state basis, across the 48 states which reported construction sector jobs data — which includes both residential as well as non-residential construction — 38 states reported an increase in March compared to February, while nine states lost construction sector jobs. New Hampshire reported no change. Texas added 19,100 construction jobs while Nevada lost 1,300. Overall, the construction industry gained 110,000 jobs in March compared to the previous month. When comparing year-over-year, the U.S. lost 91,000 construction sector jobs, which is a -1.2% decrease compared to the March 2020 level. Utah had the largest gain of any state, while Texas had the largest decline.