Covered employment increased for the eighth consecutive year in the Construction division. The state added 7,880 jobs to reach 118,944 on an annual average basis. On a percentage basis, the Division increased by 7.1 percent, which made it the second fastest growing division next to F.I.R.E. Construction accounted for 6.09 percent of all jobs in 1997 which was the highest share since 1985 when the Division accounted for 6.19 percent or 86,384 jobs. Following 1985, Construction employment declined for 4 consecutive years before bottoming out in 1989.

Building Construction - General Contractors and Operative Builders was the fastest growing of the three major construction sectors posting a 9.1 percent increase. Within this sector the largest increase was in Non-Residential Buildings which increased by 11.9 percent to 10,153 jobs. Residential Construction employment increased by 896 jobs to 13,056 in 1997. This sector also added 265 net establishments. Ninety-three percent of the Residential Construction firms were classified as building single family homes. Operative Builders, which is the smallest sector within Building Contractors, added 108 jobs to average 1,657. Operative Builders had the highest average salary within Building Construction at $48,272.

Heavy Construction experienced only a slight increase in employment for the year, adding 94 jobs to average 13,977. Highway and Street Construction, which makes up 34 percent of the sector increased by 73 jobs to 4,799. The average wage in Heavy Construction was $37,792 per year.

Special Trade Contractors which account for over two thirds of all construction jobs increased by 5,705 jobs and 712 establishments. This was a 7.7 percent increase in employment. The fastest growing sector within Special Trades on a percentage basis was Masonry, Stonework, Tile Setting, and Plastering, which increased by 11.2 percent to 11,200 jobs. The sector with the largest increase in the number of actual jobs was Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning, which added 1,464 jobs. This sector averaged 16,764 jobs and an average annual salary of $32,287. The sector with the highest average annual salary is Electrical Work at $32,987. Electrical Work employment increased by 879 jobs to 13,131. The growth in Concrete Work employment slowed considerably after posting a 23.2 percent gain in 1996, with a 10.3 percent increase to 9,666 jobs in 1997. The only sector within Special Trades that did not increase was Water Well Drilling with 452 jobs in 1997.

Note: Establishments are classified by the location of their administrative office if no permanent work site exists, which may skew county aggregation.