Maine slides to 48th in construction job growth
Employment statistics from Associated General Contractors America rank Maine 48th in the country for construction job growth, based on 700 fewer construction workers being employed at Maine companies compared to this time last year.
During the same time period, New Hampshire gained 1,300 jobs, Massachusetts 4,700 and Vermont 500.
“Falling behind the rest of nation is tough enough, but seeing our neighboring New England states adding jobs while Maine is losing them in large numbers is discouraging,” Matthew Marks, CEO of The Associated General Contractors of Maine, said in a release announcing the national rankings.
The downward trend continues a two-month slide as Maine joins only 10 other states in the country that have seen job losses during the current economic recovery. The six states that added the highest percentage of construction workers in the month of May alone were all in the Northeast, a region that has seen less growth in recent years than other parts of the country.
“Maine is not only missing an opportunity to add jobs, but also the chance to address the laundry list of infrastructure projects that continues to grow in length,” said Marks. “Being optimistic about the economy isn’t enough to ensure our state is fostering the future pool of skilled workers we will need when a decision is finally made to address the tremendous backlog of infrastructure challenges. We are at a crossroads and it’s time for a big investment in Maine. We certainly don’t want to fall to 50th in the country.”
The AGC release acknowledged one bright note: The recent announcement byCianbro in Pittsfield that it’s planning to hire 300 workers over the next few weeks, on top of the 300 hired earlier this summer, to work on projects that include the Sarah Long Bridge replacement in Kittery and the expansion of the International Marine Terminal in Portland.
Chartered in 1951, the Associated General Contractors of Maine is the state’s largest construction industry trade association. It maintains an office in Augusta and has 180 members statewide. Member companies include general contractors, sub-contractors and service and supply providers.
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