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New Mexico 3rd in Growth of Construction Jobs

March 19, 2018

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New Mexico’s yearlong construction boom has pushed the state to top national rankings for employment growth in the industry.

The state’s 9.7 percent seasonally adjusted increase in construction jobs between January of this year and the same month a year ago was tied with Nevada for No. 3 in the nation, according to the Associated General Contractors.

Among the reason for the NM boom is the continuing work on the Facebook project in Los Lunas where the social media giant is building a data center.  The company announced in November that it was tripling the original size of the project and would build a total of six buildings.

Facebook, which is investing more than $1 billion in the center, said that, as of September, 650 workers were on site daily and that construction crews would be there in 2023.

Beyond that, the state is seeing pent-up demand following a slow recovery from our recession, said Elizabeth Jepsen, director of marketing relations for Wilger Enterprises, Inc.  With the state’s economy slowly improving, the commercial construction industry is becoming more confident and some projects are back on track, she said.

Also boosting the numbers is the comeback of the oil and gas industry, with activity booming in the Permian in West Texas and eastern New Mexico.  And health care continues to grow, with a demand for new clinics and other types of medical facilities.

Construction jobs began to steadily rise in November 2017, according to figures from the State Department of Workforce Solutions.

Source:  Albuquerque Journal, March 16, 2018