CONSTRUCTION JOBS | Hottest and coldest states

Employment in the construction industry bottomed in 2011. Here’s a look at the 10 states with the biggest percentage gains and declines in construction jobs since then. The numbers reflect seasonally adjusted jobs in residential and nonresidential construction combined for March compared with the same month in 2011.

States with sharpest increases in construction jobs:

1. North Dakota (32.8 percent)

2. Alaska (17.1 percent)

3. Utah (16.3 percent)

4. Wyoming (12 percent)

5. California (11.8 percent)

6. Arizona (11 percent)

7. Louisiana (9.8 percent)

8. Texas (9.8 percent)

9. West Virginia (9.7 percent)

10. Massachusetts (8.8 percent)

States with the steepest declines:

1. Illinois (-6.6 percent)

2. Alabama (-5.2 percent)

3. Rhode Island (-3.2 percent)

4. North Carolina (-2.9 percent)

5. New Mexico (-2.3 percent)

6. Georgia (-2 percent)

7. Montana (-1.8 percent)

8. Mississippi (-1.6 percent)

9. Arkansas (-1.5 percent)

10. Nevada (-1.1 percent)

Source: U.S. Department of Labor