Gains continue for Long Island construction employment | Long Island Business News

Construction employment on Long Island saw a year-over-year increase for the fifth month in a row in July, according to a new report from the Associated General Contractors of America. 

Nassau and Suffolk counties gained 1,900 construction jobs from July 2023 to July 2024, a 2 percent year-over-year increase, rising from 85,900 to 87,800, the AGCA reports. 

Regionally, the number of construction jobs in New York City was down 6 percent, losing 9,100 jobs from July 2023 to July 2024, falling from 145,000 to 135,900, 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 6 percent, losing 3,100 jobs from July 2023 to July 2024, falling from 48,400 to 45,300, the AGCA reported, which was the third largest decrease nationally. 

Nationally, construction employment rose in 232 of 258 metro areas, between July 2023 and July 2024, according to AGCA and new government employment data. 

Association officials report that their latest workforce survey shows contractors are still eager to hire more employees but face difficulty finding qualified workers.  

“It is heartening that nearly two-thirds of metro areas have added construction workers in the past year,” Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, said in a AGCA statement. “But contractors’ struggles to fill open positions suggest many more metros would have job gains if there were enough qualified applicants available.” 

Metro areas adding the most construction jobs over the last year include the Houston area, which added 11,700 jobs for a 5 percent increase; the Las Vegas area, gaining 9,700 jobs for a 12 percent rise; and the Baton Rouge, La. area, which gained 7,400 jobs for a 16 percent gain. 

Besides New York City and Orange/Rockland/Westchester, the metro areas seeing the largest drops in construction employment from July 2023 to July 2024 include the Denver area, losing 4,700 jobs for a 4 percent decrease; the Minneapolis area, which lost 4,200 jobs for a 4 percent drop; and the San Jose, Calif. area, which lost 2,600 jobs for a 5 percent drop.