B.R. among nation’s top metros for construction hiring in May

With a 13% construction employment increase in May—an addition of 4,900 jobs since May of last year—the Capital Region was the 11th-best performing city among 337 U.S. metro areas tracked by the Associated General Contractors of America. By percentage gains, Lafayette is ranked even higher in the monthly jobs report by AGCA out today: Though it added fewer total jobs—900 on the year, for a total of 7,200 construction workers as of May—the year-over-year increase worked out to a 14% jump. That placed Lafayette in a tie with Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Akron, Ohio, as the eighth-best performing metro in May. Baton Rouge had a total of 43,600 people working in the construction industry as of May, according to the report. The Houma-Thibodaux area added 100 jobs in May, a 2% gain. The three other Louisiana metros tracked by AGCA joined 161 others across the United States that saw construction employment losses on the month. Lake Charles lost 200 jobs, a 2% drop; Shreveport-Bossier City shed 500 jobs, a 6% decline; and New Orleans saw the biggest decline in May—4,500 jobs lost, a 14% fall from May of last year. See the AGCA’s complete rankings for metro construction employment gains here.