It's no secret that the construction labor market has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Government-mandated closures, project delays, and rising material and labor costs have all contributed to a sharp rise in unemployment rates, from which the industry is still recovering two years later. Fortunately, sites have begun to reopen, equipment rentals have increased, and construction employment has started to recover over the past year. With a new wave of job opportunities, now is a great time to consider a career in construction.
If you're not sure where to start, we've rounded up 12 cities to research based on employee salaries, population, and job availability. First, let's take a look at the impact that COVID-19 has had on the construction industry in general. Using a combination of information collected from Glassdoor, the US Census Bureau, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), we've narrowed down a list of 12 American cities ideal for finding work in the construction field. We took into account salaries, relative population size, number of jobs available, and signs of employment growth in the area. More than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic began, one of the most important economic stories has been the red-hot residential housing market.
The housing inventory is at record lows, but low interest rates, government stimulus, rising household savings, and an increasing number of first-time homebuyers have all generated strong demand almost everywhere. Stories of fierce competition, bidding wars, and sales that close well above the listing price are becoming common in markets across the country. When housing supply is low and demand is high, residential construction inevitably recovers as builders and developers try to meet demand. Although disruption of global supply chains has raised the price of construction supplies such as wood, residential construction is booming. In addition to record spending on new homes, there has been a sharp increase in spending on renovations and remodels.
One of the best projects in terms of return on investment (ROI) is window replacement. The best window replacement will increase your property's value, save you money on heating and cooling costs, and improve your home's appearance. One reason for this could be the relative value of real estate in different regions. Housing is already more expensive on the coasts, meaning fewer people can afford those markets even without taking into account the high demand and low inventory seen over the past year. However, in cheaper areas such as those found in the Midwest, current housing market conditions have increased values by larger percentages—even for new construction. In addition, these markets have acquired a new appeal as more people move to places where living is less expensive after months of social distancing restrictions and with more employers making permanent work-from-home arrangements.
The two states that best exemplify these trends are Wyoming and South Dakota—where total value of new residential building permits increased by 116% and 99%, respectively. At the other end of the spectrum are states with the lowest growth in value of new residential construction—including California, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts—some of the most expensive states in terms of home values in the US.
Metropolitan Areas with Highest Increase in Residential Construction Spending Since COVID
Depending on where you live, keeping your roof and gutters clean can seem like an endless job. Many homeowners find that gutter protectors (often referred to as gutter covers or leaf protectors) are well worth a relatively small initial investment. Whether you're just starting out or have been in business for years, the right construction management software can help take your company to the next level by streamlining document management, change orders, reports—and more. Some building permit offices only report data to the Census Bureau annually rather than monthly.As a result, monthly data for certain metropolitan areas only includes a subset of total number of permits issued. To improve accuracy of this analysis only metropolitan areas were included where offices submitting monthly reports represent at least 70% of all building permits.
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