Houston leads the country with the most construction jobs added
Houston added more construction jobs to its market than any other major metro in the country from August 2013 to August 2014.
With the demand for office, industrial and residential space at an all-time high, it comes as no surprise that Houston had a 6 percent increase in construction employment, adding 10,900 more jobs to the market year over year. The Associated General Contractors of America surveyed 330 metro areas for its report. In August, the survey counted a total of 201,400 construction jobs in the Houston area.
Dallas and Austin also saw big gains. However, the survey also included mining and logging jobs with construction jobs when evaluating the two cities. Dallas added 9,700 jobs, an 8 percent increase and Austin added 2,000 jobs, a 4 percent increase. Like Houston, only construction jobs were counted in San Antonio, which added 1,200 jobs year over year, a 3 percent increase.
Office construction has reached the highest level since the 1980s in Houston, with over 19 million square feet of space under construction, reports Houston-based PM Realty Group. Several large projects have been announced in recent months. On Sept. 25, New York-based Skanska USA Commercial Development said it has acquired 14 acres of land in north Houston for an undisclosed price to build a master-planned, Class A commercial office development that will total up to 1 million square feet.
Houston’s industrial market is also booming, especially in the northwest submarket where there are 46 buildings with a total of 2.58 million square feet under construction.
Several industry experts say the competition for labor in Houston has become so tough, builders are stealing workers off of competitor job sites.
Jenny Agee-Aldridge, Houston Business Journal, 10/2/14
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