DENVER (KDVR) — The sights and sounds of construction echo in the concrete canyons in lower downtown Denver. To the casual observer, one would think this is good.
But according to the Washington, DC-based Association of General Contractors of America, you would be dead wrong.
“The drop in construction employment we saw last March and April was truly unprecedented,” said Ken Simonson, Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) chief economist.
A new report by the AGC, a 100-year-old trade association, tells the Problem Solvers that Denver is one of the worst cities in the nation for construction job losses.
Nationally, the AGC tells Problem Solvers 1.1 million workers lost their jobs in just two months last year.
“More and more projects are being canceled or delayed,” said Simonson.
In the Denver metro area, 6,900 jobs were lost. That put Denver in the top five worst cities for lost work.
“Sadly, Denver, Aurora, Lakewood — the metro area — had one of the biggest losses of construction employment of any metro area in the country,” said Simonson.
Over the last decade, Denver was booming in jobs, construction and growth. That started to dip the last few years, and the COVID lockdowns pushed Denver over that financial cliff.
“Colorado’s economy is going to remain depressed for quite a while,” said Simonsen.
Until COVID is under control, says Simonson, there is no telling when it will get better.