Employment in the construction industry has risen in various different states within the United States within the span of a year, from January of 2011 to January of 2012. There were actually 28 states that saw growth in construction employment while 20 other states lost some construction jobs and two of those states remained steady with the amount of available construction jobs. And, while there were some states that dealt with losses in the construction industry, the fact that 28 of the states experienced gains within construction employment shows that the economy in the United States is, in fact, making much needed progress. This is such positive news as growth like this has not really taken place for construction employment since 2007, the start of the recession. During the recession, the construction industry dealt with many significant losses. The recession ended in 2009 but the economy in the United States is taking a while to pick up the pace. The recovery process has been a slow process but progress is finally starting to be made, especially for the construction industry.

A chief economist, Ken Simonson, believes that because employment is picking up for the construction industry, there is evidence that construction will only continue to go up from here. Things are finally starting to look up for those who are working in the construction field. Simonson also says that the gains are also a reflection of the decent weather, which was particularly warm this year, even during the winter season. Simonson also talked about the states that showed the most construction growth throughout the year. Those states included Pennsylvania, North Dakota, and Tennessee. The state of Pennsylvania seemed to do the best, with an increase of about 6.0 percent construction jobs.

The states that have lost construction jobs within the past year include Florida, Illinois, Alabama, and Nevada. The state that had the worst decline was Florida. And, while there were some states that dealt with losses, Maine and Nebraska remained steady when it came down to available construction jobs within the states.

Many officials are excited that the construction employment is showing improvement, especially since it was one of the industries that seemed to suffer the most during the recession. Many construction workers lost their jobs and were laid off due to the lack of available construction work. The association officials are also hoping to create a tax certainty which would help create an increase for the demand of construction, which would ultimately help more people find work. And, that is what is most important. It is important to help the citizens of the United States find more work, helping to increase the construction employment, while also lowering the unemployment rates.