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 November 1st, 2023. To view the full article, please click here.

Construction employment on Long Island decreased for the fourth straight month in September, after rising every month between August 2022 and May 2023. 

Nassau and Suffolk counties lost 4,100 construction jobs from September 2022 to September 2023, a 5 percent year-over-year drop, falling from 84,300 to 80,200, according to a report from the Associated General Contractors of America. 

The decline in construction jobs on Long Island last month was the fourth largest decrease out of 358 metropolitan areas in the country. 

Regionally, the number of construction jobs in New York City was up 10 percent, gaining 15,200 jobs from September 2022 to September 2023, rising from 144,400 to 155,400, the second largest jobs increase in the country. 

Construction employment in the Orange/Rockland/Westchester area dropped by 4 percent, losing 1,900 jobs from September 2022 to September 2023, falling from 46,700 to 44,800. 

Between September 2022 and September 2023, construction employment rose in 212 metro areas, declined in 78 areas and was unchanged in 68 areas, according to the AGCA report. 

Association officials said the figures come as many construction firms work to find new ways to recruit and retain enough workers to keep pace with demand.  

“The number of metros adding construction employees has slipped in recent months,” Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, said in an AGCA statement. “But contractors continue to report they are busy and have large backlogs, so the decline in metros with job gains probably reflects the dearth of qualified unemployed workers, not weaker demand.” 

Besides New York City, metro areas adding the most construction jobs over the last year include the Dallas area, which gained 17,300 jobs for an 11 percent rise; the Baton Rouge, La. area, which added 9,000 jobs for a 19 percent gain; and the Portland, Ore. area, adding 8,700 for an 11 percent gain. 

The metro areas seeing the largest drops in construction employment from September 2022 to September 2023 include the Houston area, which lost 8,800 jobs for a 4 percent drop; the Miami area, losing 4,700 jobs for a 9 percent decrease; and the St. Louis area, which dropped 4,500 jobs for a 6 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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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 November 1st, 2023. To view the full article, please click here.