Long Island Construction Law does not own this content. This content was created by David Winzelberg and was published to the Long Island Business News on March 20th, 2023.

Construction employment on Long Island increased in January. Nassau and Suffolk counties added 4,800 construction jobs from Jan. 2022 to Jan. 2023, a 6 percent year-over-year gain, rising from 74,200 to 79,000, according to a report from the Associated General Contractors of America. 

Regionally, the number of construction jobs in New York City was up 3 percent, gaining 4,300 jobs from Jan. 2022 to Jan. 2023, increasing from 136,700 to 141,000. 

Construction employment in the Orange/Rockland/Westchester area was up 6 percent, adding 2,300 jobs from Jan. 2022 to Jan. 2023 and rising from 41,000 to 43,300. 

Between Jan. 2022 to Jan. 2023, construction employment rose in 306 metro areas, declined in 29 metro areas and remained flat in 23 areas, according to the AGCA report. 

Association officials said that demand for manufacturing plants, data centers, and a variety of infrastructure and renewable energy projects will add to the need for more trained construction employees. They warned that many of these projects may stall or be canceled if contractors cannot find enough skilled workers. 

“This report shows construction has been growing nearly everywhere, with jobs being added in 85 percent of metro areas,” Ken Simonson, the AGCA’s chief economist, said in an association statement. “Despite a decline in homebuilding, contractors in many markets are likely to have trouble finding enough workers to undertake more projects.” 

Metro areas adding the most construction jobs over the last year include the Dallas area, which gained 13,600 jobs for a 9 percent rise; the Houston area, which added 9,200 jobs for a 4 percent gain; and the Phoenix area, which gained 8,400 jobs for a 6 percent increase. 

The metro areas seeing the largest drops in construction employment from Jan. 2022 to Jan. 2023 include the Sacramento, Calif. area, which lost 6,200 jobs for an 8 percent drop; the Los Angeles area, which lost 4,000 jobs for a 3 percent drop; and the Minneapolis area, which dropped 3,300 jobs for a 4 percent decline. 

John Caravella Esq., is a construction attorney and formerly practicing project architect at The Law Office of John Caravella, P.C., representing architects, engineers, contractors, subcontractors, and owners in all phases of contract preparation, litigation, and arbitration across New York and Florida. He also serves as an arbitrator to the American Arbitration Association Construction Industry Panel. Mr. Caravella can be reached by email: John@LIConstructionLaw.com or (631) 608-1346.

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David Winzelberg covers real estate, development, land use, retailing, franchising and white-collar crime for Long Island Business News.
An award-winning journalist who spent 20 years writing about Long Island for The New York Times, David’s work has also appeared in The Atlantic magazine, Forbes.com and has been featured on CNBC’s “American Greed.” A former adjunct professor of journalism and former editor of a weekly community newspaper, David is a frequent panelist and moderator at area business events. He can reached via email at dwinzelberg@libn.com or at (631) 913-4247. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWinzelberg.

Long Island Construction Law does not own this content. This content was created by David Winzelberg and was published to the Long Island Business News on March 20th, 2023.