Thousands of Construction Jobs Added in STL Area, Among Highest in Country
Date Posted: April 30, 2026
Posted In: News, Workforce,
From St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The St. Louis area saw some of the nation’s highest construction job growth over the last year, but gridlock in Congress threatens that progress, a construction trade group said Wednesday.
The St. Louis region had a 6% increase in construction jobs between last February and this February, tying Charlotte, North Carolina and San Jose, California for the highest percentage increase in construction jobs across large metro areas, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by the Associated General Contractors of America.
St. Louis also tied Austin, Texas, for the second-most construction jobs added, at 4,700. Only the Houston metro area added more construction jobs, at 11,200. The contractors analyzed data for 360 metro areas.
Overall, construction employment for the St. Louis metro rose from 73,800 to 78,500.
But even with the new jobs, St. Louis area employers are still contending with an overall shortage of construction workers, officials said.
Many of the new jobs are tied to highway construction projects, such as the expansion of Interstate 70.
“There are growing indications that gridlock on Capitol Hill could lead to more gridlock on the nation’s roads,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America.
The last surface transportation reauthorization passed in 2021 as part of then-President Joe Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
“Without a long-term transportation bill in place,” Simonson said Wednesday, “it is hard to see how the St. Louis area will be able to sustain its meteoric construction job growth.”