Broward and Palm Beach counties have experienced job gains in June, though most of the new work is occurring in Miami-Dade County, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) says.
Broward had 42,800 construction jobs in June, an increase of 1,800 from a year earlier, AGC reported.
Palm Beach County had 31,100 jobs, an increase 200 from June 2015.
Miami-Dade added 5,300 jobs year over year, increasing to 45,400. The AGC’s figures refer to all types of residential and commercial construction, including highways and bridges, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Demand for apartment buildings and other multifamily properties has increased in recent years. While single-family homebuilders are benefiting from the housing recovery, a shortage of land is limiting growth in the residential sector, said Truly Burton, executive vice-president of the Builders Association of South Florida.
“Commercial is doing better — that’s a stronger market,” the newspaper quoted Burton as saying.
AGC reports that Construction jobs increased in 228 of 358 metro areas nationwide based on federal employment data. Employment declined in 82 metro areas, and was unchanged in 48 communities.
“Contractors are adding employees in most parts of the country, while construction job losses are primarily in areas that are most affected by the steep decline in oil and gas drilling,” AGC chief economist Ken Simonson said in a statement.
Despite the recent gains, Simonson said some contractors are having trouble finding qualified construction workers.
The industry trade group called for an increase in federal funding for career and technical education in high schools.
