Construction employment declined in 20 states and D.C. in March, aligning with the results of a recent survey by the Associated General Contractors of America that found growing layoffs amid new project cancellations and state funding constraints. Association officials warned that these cancellations mean massive job losses are likely to occur soon in even more states unless Congress helps cover rapidly declining state revenues, adds funding for Paycheck Protection Program loans and takes other measures to help the industry recover.
“While construction employment declined in many parts of the country last month, far more states, local governments and project owners have halted construction in the five weeks since the government collected this data,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Our two latest surveys show a steep rise in cancellations of scheduled projects, which is leading to furloughs and terminations for both jobsite and office workers.”