San Diego Contractors

San Diego construction jobs drop to near-record low in June

San Diego County construction jobs dropped to 53,400 in June, approaching the record 10-year low set in February, the Associated General Contractors of America reported Tuesday.

San Diego's latest count was 4.8 percent below year-ago levels, the biggest year-over-year decline since 5.6 percent in December.

In the last 10 years, AGC figures show San Diego construction jobs rose as high as 95,100 in 2006, meaning the current level is off 43.8 percent from the peak. The year-over-year change has ranged from plus 12.2 percent in April 2004 to negative 22.1 percent in July 2009.

Nationally, the AGC said construction was up in 149 out of 337 metro areas. San Diego tied with 15 other areas at a ranking of 262nd in experiencing a roughly 5 percent drop.

The biggest increase of 20 percent occurred in the Lake County-Kenosha County area across the Illinois-Wisconsin border, where jobs rose from 12,900 to 15,500. The biggest decline of 17 percent was in Redding, where jobs fell from 2,900 to 2,400.

California was up 1 percent from 568,300 to 574,800 year-over-year, helped along by increases in San Jose, up 3 percent or 1,000 jobs, and Orange County, also up 3 percent or 2,100 jobs. Los Angeles was down 5 percent or 5,400 jobs to 100,300, and San Francisco was down 3 percent of 1,000 jobs to 31,500.

"A lot of metro areas appear to be benefiting from growing demand from the private sector for new construction," said the contractors' chief economist, Ken Simonson. "Declining public sector demand is clearing taking a toll on just as many metro areas, however."

The association said construction jobs could suffer as Congress cuts federal spending. Meanwhile, $2.5 billion in airport construction lapsed because of an unrelated policy dispute.

"Cutting construction budgets without addressing out-of-control entitlement spending is a lot like neglecting your leaky roof while you continue to dine out every night," said AGC CEO Stephen E. Sandherr. "Congress may save some money in the short run, but fixing all that broken, neglected infrastructure is going to cost a lot more later than maintaining it now would."

roger.showley@uniontrib.