By Corina Vanek – Reporter
May 4, 2021
Phoenix is among the top U.S. cities for the construction industry, with the intense demand for new houses continuing to push the need for construction jobs, according to a study from Industrial Paint and Protection Magazine.
Phoenix ranked as the fifth-best market for construction workers based on four factors: the number of new building permits issued, number of construction workers per permit, average pay and cost of living, according to the study.
The top five was dominated by Texas cities, with Dallas, Houston and Austin ranking first, second and fourth, respectively. Minneapolis ranked third.
“The Phoenix construction market has exceeded the national U.S. average significantly since 2016, and 2020 was no exception, expanding by 15% and driven by a strong residential market,” according to a Cumming research report cited by Industrial Paint and Protection Magazine.
Phoenix also had the fifth most building permits issued in February, the report stated, and “still has a significant shortage of construction workers relative to the construction boom it has enjoyed for the last several years.”
The average construction worker in the Phoenix area makes $38,420, and there’s about four workers per building permit, according to U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics data analyzed by the magazine.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 4,393 building permits were issued in the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area in February 2021. However, according to the Associated General Contractors, construction employment in the Phoenix area dropped by 3,400 jobs from March 2020 to March 2021.
According to Associated General Contractors data, 133,100 people were employed in construction in Phoenix in March 2021.
According to a Cumming Construction Management report, the largest projects in Phoenix are industrial parks, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s north Phoenix plant easily topping the list. Early construction and grading work has begun on that site.