Construction activity across Louisiana last year accounted for a 5.8% share of the state’s total gross domestic product. That’s the second-highest share of construction activity on total GDP among all states, trailing just North Dakota, according to a new analysis of U.S. Commerce Department data by the Associated Builders and Contractors.
The private construction industry in North Dakota—which, like Louisiana, has seen a building boom in recent years due to strong drilling activity—accounted for a 5.9% share of the state’s total GDP. Louisiana was followed in the rankings by Hawaii and Montana (5.3% each), and Utah (5.1%).
“Louisiana, Montana and Utah also benefited from the energy boom. These three states, along with Hawaii, saw a boost from tourism-related construction as well,” the ABC analysis says. “Further, housing construction played a role in the construction activity for these states.”
The average among all states for construction share of GDP was approximately 3.7%, which marked a nearly 20-year low.
The District of Columbia had the lowest share last year, at 1.1%, followed by Delaware (2.8%), Connecticut (2.9%), New York (3%) and Michigan (3.1%). See a detailed chart of the top and bottom 10 states in the ABC analysis.
ABC says that over the past 18 years, the value added by the private construction industry as a percentage of national GDP declined from a high of roughly 6.2% percent in 1997 to a low of approximately 3.7% in 2014, the latest year for which annual data are available.
ABC says that even with stronger relative growth in the national economy last year, 2014 “proved to be a more difficult year for construction than most forecasters expected,” further noting the value added by the private construction industry fell in real terms in 2014.
“Looking ahead, the U.S. economy is likely to perform somewhat better in 2015 than in 2014, which will benefit the U.S. construction industry,” ABC says.
As previously reported, Louisiana’s construction sector unemployment rate fell to a 2015 low of 5.6% in June.
