Construction employment seasonally declined 1.6% dropping by 2464 employees. Special Trade (17) led the fall, down 1447 employees. Losses were seasonal with Concrete Work reporting the largest loss down 673. Painting followed closely, down 504 employees. The subsector Electrical Work runs contrary to other weather impacted subsectors as much of its activity can be conducted inside. Electrical Work was the only subsector of Special Trade to gain employees over last quarter up 477. Heavy Construction (16) declined by 1242 employees. Highway & Street Construction typically slowed dropping by 847. Losses occurred primarily in the Balance of State. Heavy Construction Except Highway & Street Construction declined by 395 employees but experienced a small gain in Water, Sewer, Pipeline & Communications & Power Line Construction. General Building (15) gained 225 employees. Typically, this sector declines slightly during this quarter, but an employment gain of 143 in Residential Building and an increase of 13 rather than a loss in Nonresidential Buildings left General Building in a positive position.
ANNUAL
Construction reported the strongest annual percentage gain of all Colorado industries at 9.5%. In terms of employment this industry added 13,150 over a year ago fourth quarter. Annual growth in Special Trade (17) up 10,287 employees constituted almost 80% of the industry growth. Within Special Trade the largest subsector gains occurred in Electrical Work up 2327 and Misc Special Trade up 2241. Almost half of the gain in Misc Special Trade was due to increased work in Excavation. Plumbing, Heating & Air-Conditioning added 1719 employees and Concrete Work added 1482. General Building (15) reported an annual gain of 2747 employees. Residential Building, which covers new home construction and remodeling, grew by 1657. Heavy Construction (16) gained only 115 employees. Highway & Street Construction rose by 519 employees. Heavy Construction, Except Highway & Street fell by 404 employees. A large pipeline project taking place in fourth quarter of 1988 and ending early 1999 caused year ago employment levels to be much higher.
Colorado Employment and Wages (ES202) Fourth Quarter 1999
