DEED: Minnesota beats U.S. in construction job growth.

Byline: Brian Johnson

Construction job growth in Minnesota far outpaces the nation as a whole in the past year and that should continue thanks in part to major investments in renewable energy and other projects, according to state officials and data released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Minnesota's construction industry added a modest 200 jobs from August to September, but the sector's gain of 7,322 jobs from September 2022 to September 2023 a 5.1% increase is far greater than the 2.7% increase for the entire U.S., DEED said. Heavy and civil engineering, up 8.3%, building and equipment contractors, up 7.3%, and specialty trades, up 5.8%, saw the biggest growth.

In recent months, construction job growth in Minnesota leaned largely on heavy and civil engineering projects, but "we are starting to see growth spread out throughout that super sector, especially in building equipment contractors and specialty trade contractors," Angelina Nguy?n, director of research for DEED's Labor Market Information Office, said Thursday. "There is still growth in the construction of buildings [including] residential building construction, but they're slower."

DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek told reporters Thursday that construction employment growth is "a positive sign and hopefully indicative of other positive news when it comes to investment across a range of sectors where construction is part of the equation."

In particular, Varilek said he's hearing "positive things" about construction related to renewable energy. As an example, he referred to the recent news that a federal award of up to $925 million will benefit the development of clean technology and reduce carbon emissions in the Upper Midwest.

Xcel Energy said last week that the U.S. Department of Energy's award to the Heartland Hydrogen Hub a group that includes Xcel Energy, Marathon Petroleum Corporation and TC Energy, in collaboration with the University of North Dakota's Energy & Environmental Resource Center will serve as a "catalyst for a future hydrogen ecosystem in the Upper Midwest."

"That's going to involve Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota a massive investment. That bodes well for driving more progress in that sector," Varilek said.

Tim Worke, CEO of the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota, said a combination of factors could be driving the growth. Among those are pent-up demand and "consistently dry and favorable weather conditions"...