Covered employment classified under Construction increased for the ninth consecutive year. The Division added 13,599 jobs or 11.4 percent, making this the fifth consecutive year of record high total covered construction employment. The average wage increased by 7.4 percent to $33,409. Construction employment has increased by 120.4 percent since 1989. The Division accounted for the highest percentage of employment since 1984 when it registered 6.64 percent of all jobs. In the five years following 1984, construction employment decreased by about a third.

Of the twenty-six categories within construction, only one increased by less than five percent. Water Well drilling increased by 3.6 percent to 468 jobs.

Building Construction - General Contractors and Operative Builders employment increased by 2,415 over the year to 27,282. The average wage increased by 8.1 percent to $37,466. The largest percentage increase occurred within Industrial Buildings and Warehouses with a 22.5 percent increase to 2,555. The largest actual increase occurred in Single Family Housing Construction with an increase of 843 jobs to 12,950. Nonresidential Construction, NEC, added 766 jobs to average 8,834.

Heavy Construction experienced an unusually strong year adding 1,992 jobs due to work on the Trans-Colorado Pipeline and increased infrastructure construction. This was a 14.25 percent increase. The majority of the increase was classified in Water Sewer and Utility Lines with an increase of 1,196 jobs to 6,015. The average wage increased by 8.5 percent to $40,988.

Over two-thirds of all growth in construction employment and total construction jobs were classified within Special Trades. Special Trades had the lowest average annual salary within Construction at $30,813. Electrical Work added more jobs than any other sector within Special Trades at 1,863. Electrical Work averaged 14,994 jobs in 1998. Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning employment increased by 1,721 to 18,485. Concrete work employment increased by 1,358 to 11,024. Wrecking and Demolition Work recorded the largest percentage increase at 19.9 to average 259 jobs. Installing Building Equipment, NEC reversed a two-year downward trend by adding 61 jobs to average 876 in 1998. Carpentry Work increased by 12.6 percent over the year and 141 percent since 1992. Excavation Work (other than Heavy Construction) increased by 424 jobs to average 5,026 in 1998.

Note: Establishments are classified by the location of their administrative office if no permanent work site exists, which may skew county aggregation toward established counties and away from rapidly growing counties.