Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Report: California Construction Sector Loses Most Jobs in Nation in 2024

CITY NEWS SERVICE | PASADENA NOW CONTRIBUTED TO THIS STORY

Ironically, California lost the most construction jobs in the nation last year, according to a report issued Monday by the Associated General Contractors of America. The Eaton Fire recovery may change the 2025 outlook.

From January 2024 to January 2025, the state lost 27,600 jobs or 3% of its construction work sector, AGC reported.

New York followed with 11,700 jobs lost, Arizona with 7,700 and Massachusetts with 6,700.

“While two-thirds of the states added construction jobs over the past year, gains were much less widespread recently,” Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, said in a statement. “Some of the job losses in January may be due to bad weather, but many owners have paused projects in the face of rising uncertainty about funding and tariffs.”

AGC officials urged the Trump administration to quickly resolve the underlying disputes prompting many of the proposed and put-in-place tariffs on products, or to exclude construction materials from those tariffs. They noted that the mere threat of tariffs is leading to rising materials prices, making some prior-planned development and infrastructure projects less viable.

“The more expensive construction becomes, the less likely manufacturers will be able to afford to build the domestic factories the administration is trying to stimulate,” Jeffrey Shoaf, the association’s chief executive officer, said. “Exempting construction materials from additional tariffs will make it easier for manufacturers to boost domestic production by making it easier to build factories.”