State Level Analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics Nonfarm Construction Jobs for June 2022: 38 States Increase

A deeper dive into the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment summary for June, with a state-by-state overview and a focus on construction and additional analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), reveals that nonfarm payroll employment increased month-over-month in 38 states in June compared to the previous month. Conversely, 11 states and the District of Columbia lost jobs in June. Rhode Island reported no change. Nationwide nonfarm payroll increased by 372,000 jobs in June, following a gain of 384,000 jobs in May.

Of note, year-over-year through June, 6.3 million jobs have been recovered, marking the economic rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic induced recession. All states and the District of Columbia added jobs compared to a year ago. The range of job gains spanned from 850,000 jobs in California to 5,600 jobs added in Vermont. In percentage terms, Nevada reported the highest increase (6.6%), while Kansas increased the least (1.5%) compared to a year ago.

According to the analysis, across the 48 states which reported construction sector jobs data—which includes both residential as well as non-residential construction—25 states reported an increase in June compared to May, while 22 lost construction sector jobs. West Virginia reported no change. Pennsylvania added 4,400 construction jobs, while California lost 6,100 jobs. Overall, the construction industry added a net 13,000 jobs in June compared to the previous month. In percentage terms, Oregon increased by 2.4% while Connecticut reported a decline of 2.9% between May and June.

Year-over-year, construction sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 292,000, which is a 4.0% increase compared to the June 2021 level. Texas added 50,100 jobs, which was the largest gain of any state, while Kentucky lost 2,200 construction sector jobs. In percentage terms, New Mexico had the highest annual growth rate in the construction sector: 14.0%. In the same period, Kentucky reported a decline of 2.8%.