North Texas added more construction jobs in 2022 than any other metropolitan area in the country except Houston.
The Houston area increased by 18,800 construction jobs last year, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth with an increase of 12,000 construction jobs, according to data provided by Associated General Contractors of America.
The Dallas side of the D-FW metro area accounted for 9,200 of new construction jobs in 2022.
North Texas added thousands of construction jobs as D-FW saw a record $16.7 billion in commercial building starts last year. Only New York City saw more commercial buildings and apartments in 2022, according to estimates from Dodge Data & Analytics.
Commercial building starts in the region are up 51% from 2021 levels.
Associated General Contractors chief economist Ken Simonson warned that the industry will face familiar challenges in 2023.
“Labour is tight, material prices are rising, interest rates are rising and some sectors of the economy are announcing layoffs,” Simonson said in a statement. “These threats could undermine future job growth in the construction sector, especially if planned federal funding for construction remains delayed by regulatory hurdles.”
Construction employment was higher at the end of the year in 268 of 358 US metropolitan areas tracked by the construction industry trade association.
As construction companies added workers from North Texas in 2022, construction industry ranks shrank in the state’s other two major metropolitan areas. The Austin area saw a drop of 3,500 workers and construction employment fell by 1,900 jobs in the San Antonio area.
Statewide, there were 18,300 more construction workers by the end of 2022 than a year earlier.
Much of the state’s construction job gains came from civil and heavy engineering construction, utility construction, road and bridge construction, and building exterior work.
“There’s a huge diversity of types of businesses that have added employees,” Simonson said. “Most segments added employees in 2022 compared to the same month in 2021.”
D-FW added a total of 234,700 jobs in 2022, second only to New York, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest estimate.
D-FW is expected to be one of the top commercial real estate investment markets for 2023.
