A new report by the Associated General Contractors of America has found that despite an overall stagnant market, Texas leads when it comes to construction jobs.
The analysis showed the metropolitan area of Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas, was the overall winner for job growth in the construction industry during the past year. The region added approximately 10,400 jobs, a 6 percent increase from August 2010 to August 2011, according to Reuters.
Other top winners include Lake County-Kenosha County, in northern Illinois. That area added approximately 2,900 construction-related jobs over the past 12 months.
Some of the biggest industry losers included Southern California, which experienced a loss of more than 7,000 jobs in the same time period. Redding, California, was the worst performer in the construction industry, losing 600 jobs.
Association spokesman Ken Simonson said the industry is seeing more jobs gained for building within private sector, while public spending continues to decline.
“The construction market is caught between increases in private sector demand and even larger decreases in public sector construction investments,” Simonson added. “Construction employment continues to be stuck in a pattern where there are just as many hot spots as there are slow spot.”