New York suffered 16,100 (-5.1%) construction job losses over the past year according to an Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) analysis of state employment data released by the Labor Department.
New York experienced the second largest loss in the nation after Florida, which lost 20,400 jobs over the past year.
AGC cautioned that the fragile construction employment recovery some states are experiencing could be undermined by a pending federal rule that requires many local governments as well as state and federal governments to withhold 3 percent of contractors’ earning for publicly funded work. Combined with federal state and local budget costs, the “Three Percent Rule” is likely to undermine the recover before it starts, association officials warned.
“Forcing contractors to do less work and earn less for that work isn’t a good way to boost construction employment,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer.
