California ranked 44 out of 47 states that saw declines in construction jobs in July.

In a report released by the Associated General Contractors of America, Arizona and Nevada lost the most jobs, while Louisiana and North Dakota were the only two that saw gains in construction employment.

The report, based on federal employment data, found California to be one of the top states to have job loss in the construction industry between July 2008 and July 2009.

“There aren’t a lot of places construction workers can turn to avoid the steep layoffs sweeping the construction industry right now,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the CEO of AGC. “Sadly, construction workers are feeling the full impact of declining state spending, a near halt in office and retail construction and stimulus spending that – with too many programs – has yet to materialize.”

The report showed each of the five hardest hit states in July saw construction employment declines greater than 20 percent over the previous year. The worst hit, Arizona, has a 28 percent decrease in construction employment, while California suffered a drop of 18.6 percent.
Even in the states with the most positive figures, the numbers were less than encouraging, Sandherr added.

Out of the 50 states, only Mississippi remained the same.
Sandherr said that new employment figures underscore the need for federal and state officials to move faster in allocating the estimated $135 billion in stimulus-funded construction programs.
“Finding a way to accelerate the construction portion of the stimulus will go a long way in bringing desperate construction workers a much-needed opportunity to put their skills to use again,” Sandherr said.