NC lost 3,900 construction jobs over past year

North Carolina has lost 3,900 construction jobs over the past 12 months, according to a new report from the Associated General Contractors of America.

The losses represent a 2 percent decline for the state's construction workforce from July 2011 to July 2012.

The losses totaled 4,100 when you include mining and logging jobs.

The Raleigh-Cary market also saw a 2 percent decline in total jobs, declining from 30,200 to 29,600. Durham-Chapel Hill lost 200 jobs over that period, or 3 percent of the total.  

The construction industry has been one of the sectors  hardest hit by the economic downturn.

The credit crunch combined with the bursting of the residential housing bubble has led to a severe decline in commercial and residential real estate construction.

Although the residential housing and some commercial sectors, such as apartments, have shown improvement over the past year the industry is also being hurt by fewer public sector projects as local governments reduce spending.

Construction employment declined in 165 out of 337 metropolitan areas over the past 12 months, increased in 123 and was stagnant in 49, according to the AGC's analysis, which is based on federal employment data.

“Construction employment is healthy in the handful of areas where private sector demand is on the rebound,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, in a statement.

“However, construction employment in most metro areas is suffering from the effects of tepid private sector demand and shrinking public sector construction budgets.”