Dive summary:

• In 27 states last month, construction employment gained, and the gains reached record levels in Louisiana and North Dakota.
• Much of the country is not benefiting from the same kind of energy-driven expansion, however, and Associated General Contractors said in its analysis of federal jobs data that the public sector needs to get moving on delayed projects.
• In Nevada, for example, construction employment went down to 44% of what it was in June 2006, and Florida sank to half of the construction jobs it had in the same month.

From the article:

“The strongest recoveries in construction employment have occurred in states with oil and gas activity, while the steepest construction job losses have occurred in Sunbelt states,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. ...