Within the span of just one year, from August of 2011 to August of 2012, construction employment has considerably declined in more than half of the states in the entire country. A total of 30 states saw a decline in construction employment over the past year and a total of 26 states saw a decline of construction employment within the span of just one month. This information was provided by the Associated General Contractors of America and their Labor Department statistical data. The association has made it clear that construction employment has dropped in the vast majority of states across the country. The chief economist for the association, Ken Simonson, has said, “Construction employment continues to decline in many states as key tax and infrastructure decisions languish in Washington.” He also said, “Thousands more construction workers could be employed today in states across the country if we had long-term federal tax and infrastructure programs in place.”

The economist has said that there were a number of states who seemed to have lost a large portion of construction jobs. Alaska was the state with the biggest drop, losing a total of around 2,000 construction jobs over the past year. Nevada took second place for the number of construction jobs lost, with a total of 10.0 percent, also equivalent to a loss of around 5,200 construction jobs. Some other states that also dealt with larger declines include Mississippi, Illinois, Georgia, and Florida. This was definitely not a good sign for several of these states.

Along with the losses, some states managed to add construction jobs over the past year. The District of Columbia added a total of around 1,800 construction jobs. North Dakota came in second with the number of construction jobs added, having added a total of 11.8 percent or 2,900 new jobs. Several other states, such as Nebraska, Texas, California, and Indiana, managed to add jobs within the construction sector.

According to the officials of the association, construction employment has suffered over the past year because Washington has failed to make decision on different infrastructures and on the tax measures. If Congress would act on such measures, more construction projects would likely be made available. The chief executive officer for the association, Stephen E. Sandherr, has said, “Not only are Washington officials failing to make tough choices on infrastructure funding, they aren’t even taking care of essential measures like setting tax rates and keeping our clean water systems up to date.” He also said, “Construction employment suffers when firms can’t anticipate future demand or know how much they will have to pay in taxes.”