By Adam Pagnucco.
Part One summarized the premise of this series: an examination of key stats from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) comparing Montgomery County to its largest neighbors. Part Two looked at population. Part Three looked at gross domestic product (GDP). Part Four looked at per capita GDP. Part Five looked at personal income. Part Six looked at per capita personal income. Part Seven looked at wage and salary employment. Part Eight looked at proprietors employment – jobs held by the self-employed. Part Nine looked at proprietors income. Part Ten looked at GDP from the construction industry. Now let’s examine construction employment.
The chart below shows construction employment growth for eight large jurisdictions in the region in the most recent year measured. BEA does not release construction employment for the region, Frederick County or Prince William County, so instead of a regional comparison, we calculate the total for the eight remaining large jurisdictions shown below.
All eight jurisdictions saw modest growth in construction jobs. MoCo trailed the eight jurisdiction total but not by much.
Now let’s look at the five-year change.
MoCo, D.C. and Howard County significantly trail their neighbors.
This chart shows the ten-year change.
MoCo is virtually tied at the bottom here with Fairfax, Alexandria and Arlington. Loudoun and Prince George’s led the region.
Let’s look at MoCo’s construction employment more closely, which is shown in the chart below since 2001. The real estate boom of the early 2000s led to steady growth in construction jobs which was smothered by the Great Recession. The county’s construction employment never fully recovered.
Now let’s look at MoCo’s percentage of the eight large jurisdictions’ combined construction employment over the same period. While MoCo’s construction jobs never recovered from the Great Recession, other jurisdictions did – especially D.C., Loudoun, Prince George’s and Arlington. MoCo’s percentage of local construction jobs (excluding Frederick and Prince William, which are not covered) is now at its lowest level in at least twenty years.
Construction is tied to infrastructure, and infrastructure is both necessary for and stimulative of economic growth. Whether it’s in terms of industry GDP or jobs, MoCo’s construction industry is falling behind. That does not bode well for the future.
Next: we conclude.