Minnesota lost 900 construction jobs between December 2013 and January, but over the past 12 months, the state gained 8,900 jobs, an increase of 9.2 percent. The yearly gain makes Minnesota No. 3 in the nation related to construction hiring, according to the Associated General Contractors of America, which uses U.S. Department of Labor Department data in its monthly reports.
Construction firms added jobs in 38 states between January 2013 and January 2014, despite harsh weather conditions in many parts of the country. This is a "sign that demand appears to be recovering," AGC said in a news release.
But, AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson warned that "some of these gains will be at risk if federal transportation funding comes to halt this summer as predicted." Predictions that the federal Highway Trust Fund, which finances highway, bridge and transit construction nationwide, will hit a zero balance by this summer could undermine the sector's recov-ery during the middle of the construction season, AGC said.
The year-over-year jobs leader among all states was Kansas with a 10.7 percent rise, or 5,900 jobs. Meanwhile, the District of Columbia lost 600 jobs in the period.
