New employment numbers show steep losses in construction nationwide

Construction workers continued to bear the pain of steep job losses almost everywhere in June, as construction employment rose only in North Dakota (by 5 percent) and Louisiana (4 percent), compared to June 2008, according to new data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs disappeared in the remaining 48 states and the District of Columbia, with losses as great as 26 percent in Arizona, 23 percent in Nevada, 22 percent in Connecticut and 20 percent in Tennessee, noted Ken Simonson, the chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, according to a July 17 AGC release.

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