While employment and productivity in the construction industry are on the upswing nationwide, the West Coast is seeing slower growth in parts. Construction employment in Oregon and Washington is growing steadily, but slowly. California's construction job growth rate is ahead of the national average, but lost many more jobs than other states and still has a ways to go.
Slow But Steady Growth in Oregon in Washington
In Oregon, one of the states where construction was hit hardest, residential building and nonresidential building companies had lost thousands of employees by 2009. However, 1,800 new construction jobs were added to the industry just last year, a 2.6% growth rate, and experts project that number will increase to 3,500 new jobs by the end of 2013. Over the next decade, carpenters, construction laborers, electricians, project managers and equipment operators are expected to be in highest demand in the state. Thousands of new jobs are expected to be added in each sector of the construction industry, according to the Oregon Employment Department.
In Washington things are looking more promising, though growth in the state is still slow. In 2012, 6,500 new jobs were added in the Puget Sound area alone, a 10% increase from the number of construction jobs in the region the year before. Other parts of Seattle are seeing steady job growth and an increased demand for construction projects. Both public projects, such as new infrastructure, and private sector projects are growing in the region, which bodes well for small businesses and large companies alike. According to the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council (ERFC), Washington-based construction professionals looking for jobs can expect to see another 6.5% increase in jobs next year and another 8% increase by 2015.
Green Building in California
Construction professionals, whether they are engineers, superintendents or heavy equipment operators, should look to the Golden State to get in on the green building scene. Thanks to an initiative that passed the California State Congress late last year, the state is investing $550 million annually in efficiency and clean energy school construction projects. This will create new jobs and open the doors for LEED certified architects and project managers as well as create opportunities for skilled tradesmen and construction workers. In addition to a booming green building sector, California is also looking at an 11.8% growth rate in construction jobs. This is much higher than the national average of 5.8% growth, though California lost more jobs in the building industry than most other states.
Though growth is slow, West Coast states are poised to add many more construction jobs to their economies in 2013 and in coming years. Specialty contractors, tradesmen and supervisors and managers can expect to find jobs first, while architects and engineers may not see as many opportunities yet. Fortunately, for those construction professionals looking for work, and for construction companies ready to start hiring, there are free online resources and tools to make the hiring process easy. Join a professional community and start networking with other construction industry experts today.
About Construction Connection
ConstructionConnection.com was created out of a need for a more effective and streamlined way for construction industry professionals to get matched with the right industry jobs and with the right industry opportunities. The partners of Construction Connection, both industry professionals themselves, listened to both company and individuals' dissatisfaction with the traditional job boards, the paid resume blasts, the overpriced resume services and overall lack of sympathy toward the individual candidate. They listened to the dissatisfaction from companies who post jobs only to get many irrelevant results or having to purchase high priced ads to showcase their company. Construction Connection is a patent-pending, one-of-a-kind profile creating / match-making system. The system delivers effective results. Construction Connection saves you time, money and aggravation by matching people to people, people to companies, companies to people, and company to company.
