Construction Employment in Louisiana Increased Two Percent in April

New construction projects are beginning in some areas of Louisiana, which are helping employment in the industry grow, according to The Times Picayune.

The Associated General Contractors of America released new data that shows across the state there were 2,700 construction jobs added in the month of April. This brought the month’s total to 133,000, up from the 130,300 in April of 2013, which is good for a two-percent increase.

The metropolitan area that added the most construction jobs in the country was that of Baton Rouge as it beat its prior peak set in April of 2013. There were 4,100 construction jobs added in Red Stick, which upped the total to 48,600, good for a nine-percent increase. In April of 2013, there were 44,500 construction jobs in Baton Rouge.

In April of 2013 there were 30,900 jobs in the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner area. In April of 2014, there were 200 fewer jobs, a drop of one-percent. Due to the drop, this area ranks 272 out of 339 metropolitan areas examined in the recent data.

The highest percent of construction jobs added in April of 2014 came in Lake Charles. The increase was 19 percent with a gain of 2,000. This ranked the city at 9 in the country. In April 2014, there were 12,400 jobs. In April 2013, there were just 10,400 jobs in construction.

The latest figures show that construction employment increased in 220 out of 339 metropolitan areas from April of 2013 to April of 2014.

“Construction employment appears to be rebounding in many parts of the country,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Declines in federal spending likely depressed construction employment near Washington, while of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy may be having an impact on construction employment in metro areas in New Jersey.”

The construction industry has not completely recovered from the recession, but the data from the AGC shows that the government could be ready to invest in an aging infrastructure across the country.

“After years of declining public sector demand for construction that has partly offset growing private sector demand, Washington officials seem open to investing in our aging infrastructure,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “Passing a new highway and transportation bill would certainly help boost construction employment in many parts of the country.”

The largest percentage increase in the entire country came from El Centro, California. El Centro experienced a growth of 23 percent, with 500 more jobs in April of 2014 than in April of 1991. This data was compared to the 22 metro areas that matched or beat their highest construction employment numbers for the month of April.

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