Where Is Home Building Employment Most Concentrated?

Residential construction employment continued to soften in recent months. Over the last year, the sector has shed a net of 48,800 jobs, marking the 15th consecutive annual decline and the longest stretch of annual losses since the Great Recession.

Despite these nationwide job losses, residential construction remains a significant source of local employment in many markets.

NAHB analysis of county-level data shows that the industry’s employment footprint is particularly large in rural and smaller-market counties, where home building accounts for a greater share of total employment than it does nationally.

County-Level Concentration of Residential Construction Employment

The geographic patterns become even clearer when counties are grouped according to NAHB’s Home Building Geography Index (HBGI). Residential construction generally plays a larger role in rural and suburban markets, while large metro core counties show relatively lower employment concentration because their economies are more diversified and less dependent on home building activity.

Among the seven HBGI categories, non-metro/micro counties recorded the highest concentration of residential construction employment. Meanwhile, large metro core counties recorded the lowest residential construction employment concentration.

For a more in-depth look at NAHB’s analysis, read this Eye On Housing article by NAHB Senior Director of Forecasting & Analysis Jing Fu.