Construction firms added jobs in 38 states over the past 12 months, although job gains leveled off between February and March, according to an analysis today by ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ of America of Labor Department data. Association officials said the ongoing year-over-year pickup points to the urgency of revitalizing and initiating programs to encourage workers and graduating students to get construction careers.
"The widespread gains in employment from a year ago are encouraging, given the tough winter many states endured right through March," said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. "The never-ending winter of 2014 may account for the dip in the number of states that added construction jobs in the latest month, but it is also possible that single-family homebuilders are not adding workers as some forecasters expected."
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