DALLAS — Despite a slowdown in building starts this year, the Dallas area leads the country in construction jobs added.
Dallas added 11,600 building sector jobs in the year ending in May – the most of any U.S. metro area, according to the latest reports from the Associated General Contractors. Construction employment in Dallas was 8% higher in May than a year before.
New York City was second with 9,600 new construction jobs, an increase of 7%. Columbus, Ohio; Atlanta; and Portland, Oregon, also saw large gains.
“While nearly two-thirds of metro areas added construction jobs in the last 12 months, the total would have been higher if contractors could find qualified workers,” Ken Simonson, the Associated General Contractors of Americas’ chief economist, said in the report. “But with a construction unemployment rate in May of only 3.5%, there are very few suitable candidates available in many markets.”
Dallas’ strong construction employment gains came even though North Texas commercial and residential building starts have slowed this year. In the first quarter, Dallas-Fort Worth commercial building activity declined by 23%.
Single-family home building permits in North Texas have fallen every month in 2023 through May compared with the same period last year.
While the Dallas area is adding construction jobs, Houston recorded the largest construction employment decline in May, down 5,400 jobs from a year earlier. Construction employment also fell annually in St. Louis, Los Angeles and Miami.
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