Construction employment increased in 146 out of 337 metropolitan areas between August 2010 and August 2011, declined in 145 and stayed level in 46, according to the Associated General Contractors of America. The split between the private sector and public sector is broadening more and more as the year goes on. Demand keeps increasing for the private sector while the public sector continues to deteriorate.

Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, said, “private sector spending on construction has grown by 5.5 percent since July 2010 while public sector demand declined by 8.8 percent during the same time period.” AGC is calling on Washington officials to pass long-term infrastructure bills and get rid of regulations slowing down the public sector, which will boost construction employment.

"It’s like we are trying to rebuild our economy with two hands tied behind our back,” said the association’s chief executive officer Stephen E. Sandherr. “We’re penny pinching on infrastructure even as we allow entitlement spending to spiral out of control, while we are doing a lot of things to inflate the cost and delay the completion of infrastructure projects.”

Source: Associated General Contractors of America