Raleigh-Cary lost 25% of construction jobs between Oct. 2008 and Oct. 2009

The Raleigh-Cary area lost 25 percent of its construction jobs between October 2008 and 2009, according to a new analysis of metropolitan area employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released by the Associated General Contractors of America.
The job losses, which totaled 9,500 in Raleigh and Cary, were the second most of any region in the state behind Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, which declined 23 percent and lost 12,300 jobs.
The Durham-Chapel Hill area lost 1,200 construction jobs over the same period, or 12 percent of the total number of jobs it had in October 2008.
Construction employment nationally dropped by 1.1 million jobs over the period, according to the AGCA's analysis, with 328 metro areas reporting losses.
The 25 percent decline experienced in Raleigh-Cary was among the highest percentages recorded in any region across the country. The worst hit area from a percentage standpoint was Reno-Sparks, Nev., which saw construction jobs drop by 32 percent, or 5,100 jobs.  The Chicago-Naperville-Joliet region in Illinois recorded the largest number of total jobs lost at 24,000.