Thousands of construction jobs in Fort Lauderdale have been lost during the last year.
A recent report from the Associated General Contractors of America found that Fort Lauderdale lost 4,000 construction jobs – a decrease of 11 percent – when compared to last year. Other areas in South Florida continued to lose construction workers as well.
West Palm Beach lost 4,400 construction workers, a decrease of 16 percent, while Miami lost 1,700 construction jobs, a decrease of 5 percent. Florida as a whole saw its construction industry drop 18,600 employees over the year.
Most recently, the Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach area’s construction industry employed 32,200 workers during August, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 32,100 workers during July, but an 11 percent decrease from last year.
Of the 337 metro areas included in the AGC report, 56 added construction jobs between August 2009 and August 2010, which is higher than any time since September 2008. Click here to see a construction laborer job description.
Nearly half of the states throughout the nation added construction jobs during August, while the number of states that added jobs increased from six to 10. Kansas City added the most workers, increasing by 2,500 jobs, or 13 percent.
“With construction employment on the mend in an increasing number of areas, it appears that the worst is finally over,” AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson said. “The fact remains, however, that this industry has a long way to go before we see construction employment back to pre-recession levels.”