TO new report prepared by the Associated General Contractors of America shows that construction jobs are increasing and Texas is one of the top states leading the construction industry with more than 21,000 jobs added last year.
but a new AGCA report showed that the The Houston-Woodlands-Sugar Land area had its worst year, after losing more than 6,000 construction employees last year.
Ken Simonson, chief economist at Associated General Contractors of America, said the increase in construction employment could be due to the increase in people and companies moving to Texas.
The statewide increase in construction employment indicates how vibrant the Texas economy is, Simonson said, and has been attracting large numbers of people migrating from other states and across the border. That creates demand for housing and consumer services.
"There are also a lot of companies that have been moving here or expanding in Texas. But it's not happening uniformly," Simonson said. "Historically, Houston has had a very volatile economy because it is so tied to the oil and gas industry."
Simonson also said the oil and gas industry in Houston has not been stable and that could be a result of declining employment, even though Houston led the country in the number of construction jobs added last year, he said. Simonson.
"So there are big swings up and down in employment associated with the oil and gas industry, including the construction of major facilities," he said.
a different one survey conducted by the organization said that candidates often lack the necessary skills.
"The long-term problem has been declining support for career and technical education and many high schools have abandoned the kind of alternative options that students once had about what kind of career path to pursue." Simonson said.
The construction industry has been working with schools and community colleges to bring back programs that would allow students to pursue non-college careers. A career in construction pays well, but despite that, the industry is struggling to attract more workers, she said. "Historically, the industry paid 20% more than the typical production job or an unsupervised job and you can also get a well-paying construction job right out of high school and have a good career track record. But right now those appeals are not enough to keep the construction process full," simonson saying.
