Arlington, VA— Construction employment in August, the latest time for which information was available, remained below the levels reached before the pre-pandemic peak in February 2020 in 39 states, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America, located here, of government employment data. Association officials urged the House of Representatives to quickly pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill to avoid further cutbacks in construction activity and jobs.
“Construction employment slipped or stagnated from July to August in half the states as the Delta variant of COVID-19 affected workers and caused some owners to delay projects,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “In addition, more than half of the respondents in our latest workforce survey reported experiencing projects that have been canceled, postponed or scaled back.”
Association officials warned that construction employment was being impacted in many parts of the country because of supply chain challenges and growing market uncertainty caused by the resurgent Delta variant. They said new federal infrastructure investments would provide a needed boost in demand and help put more people to work in construction careers.
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