Maine lost roughly 1,700 construction jobs in April – nearly 6 percent of all Maine jobs in the industry – as projects were postponed or canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

A report issued by construction trade group Associated General Contractors of America placed Maine near the middle of the pack in terms of the percentage of construction job losses among all 50 states and Washington, D.C., from March to April. With a one-month loss of 5.7 percent, Maine ranked No. 19 for lowest percentage of job losses.

“Rising project cancellations are forcing many firms (nationwide) to furlough or terminate employees even as federal relief measures help avoid further job losses,” the trade group said in a news release.

The No. 1-ranked state was South Dakota, which actually gained 500 construction jobs – about 2 percent – from March to April, it said. The lowest-ranked state was Vermont, which lost 6,800 construction jobs – roughly 46 percent – from March to April.

Maine had a smaller share of construction job losses than any other New England state, according to the trade group. Massachusetts was ranked No. 47 with 60,000 jobs lost – about 37 percent – over the one-month period. New Hampshire was ranked No. 38 with 3,200 jobs lost – about 11 percent.

One Associated General Contractors economist said a loss of 975,000 construction jobs, or 13 percent, nationwide from March to April pushed down industry employment to multi-year lows in many states.

“Today’s state employment report shows how widespread – and deep – the job losses have been among construction workers, despite a smattering of new or accelerated projects,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Meanwhile, our latest survey indicates that the (federal Paycheck Protection Program) has enabled some companies to retain or add workers for now, but that relief will expire soon if not extended.”

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