Construction jobs fall in every state but 1 in April.

South Carolina lost 6,100 construction jobs from March to April 2020 as the industry saw job losses in every state except South Dakota.

An analysis (.pdf) of federal data by the Associated General Contractors of America found that nationwide, the industry lost 975,000 jobs a drop of 13% from March to April. New York lost 166,200 construction jobs, while Vermont saw a decline of 46.3%.

South Dakota alone added construction jobs, seeing an increase of 500 jobs.

South Carolina has lost 3,600 jobs from April 2019 to April 2020, a decrease of 3.4%.

An AGC survey (.pdf) found that 44% of 742 respondents had halted a project that was underway in April, while 16% canceled a project scheduled to start in April.

Thirty percent of firms had furloughed or terminated workers, but an equal amount added employees, including some that had laid off workers earlier.

"Our latest survey indicates that the paycheck loan program has enabled some companies to retain or add workers for now, but that relief will expire soon if not extended," Ken Simonson, AGC chief economist, said in a news release.

The AGC also found the construction spending shrank 2.9% in April. The month's seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.35 trillion...