By Catherine Reagor | The Republic | azcentral.com
Arizona’s ailing construction industry is adding jobs again, reversing an 8-month trend of falling employment and potentially signaling a revival of the home building market.
Depending on the source, anywhere from 2,800 to 2,400 new construction jobs were created across the state during January. That increase ranks Arizona 10th nationally for new construction employment, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.
The Contractors Association tracked 2,800 new Arizona construction jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 2,400 jobs were added to the state’s building industry during the first month of 2015.
During 2006, the peak of the Valley’s housing boom, almost 64,000 homes were built. During the crash, home building plummeted and more than 250,000 construction jobs were lost.
Arizona’s home-building recovery has faltered several times. Since the crash, fewer than half the construction jobs lost across the state have been recovered.
