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Construction employment in Colorado was up by 7% from a year ago in April, coming in seventh strongest among the states, according to a new report by the Associated Contractors of America. Colorado added 10,500 jobs during the last 12 months, with two-thirds in metro Denver.
The top two states for construction job growth were Hawaii and Iowa, while the energy-economy states of North Dakota and Wyoming have lost the most construction jobs. Even so, the industry is still growing nationwide.
"Some metros might have added construction jobs if contractors had been able to find enough qualified workers," noted Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. "The dearth of skilled construction workers in many areas threatens to hold down the extent of job gains in the coming months.”
