Like almost every news story about the economy in recent months, November construction employment numbers compiled by Associated General Contractors of America mixed good and bad.

The group said 19 states and the District of Columbia added building workers and everywhere else shed jobs compared with October. The analysis is based on federal Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data that had been seasonally adjusted to account for normal fluctuations.

When AGC looked at employment in November 2010 and last month, the news was slightly more upbeat. Half the state and D.C. had more people working in construction while the other half had fewer.

“Although there have been selective improvements in private nonresidential employment, multifamily construction and even home building in a few states, public construction employment declines are negating these gains in much of the country,” Ken Simonson, AGC chief economist, said in a statement. “The map of gains and losses is likely to remain very checkered for several more months.”