Richmond continues to lose a greater percentage of its construction jobs than any other metro area in Virginia, but the drop in October was far less than several months ago.
The Richmond region lost 36,100 jobs compared with October 2008, according to the Department of Labor Statistics. That’s a decrease of 13 percent. Northern Virginia lost 6 percent, as did Hampton Roads. Roanoke’s construction employment fell 3 percent.
Richmond’s construction employment fell 19 percent in August of 2009 compared with the previous year. One factor to keep in mind is that the economy really started grinding to halt in the late summer of 2008, so now year-to-year comparisons are starting from a smaller baseline. The lower demand has lowered the prices. Several developers have also told BizSense that they are now paying less for construction projects — sometimes 25 percent less — than two years ago.
For the state as a whole, construction employment fell 11 percent in October compared with the same month of 2008. That’s much better than lots of other states, some of which are looking at a 20 percent dip.
Aaron Kremer is the BizSense editor. Please send news tips to Editor@richmondbizsense.com.
