ARLINGTON, Va. – Only five out of 337 metropolitan areas in the nation saw an increase in construction employment between October 2008 and October 2009, according to a new analysis of metropolitan area employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released by the Associated General Contractors of America.

Meanwhile, construction employment nationally tumbled by 1.1 million jobs during the past 12 months alone, with 328 metropolitan areas reporting losses. Construction employment was unchanged in four areas.

“Imagine if the entire population of greater Salt Lake City lost their jobs because that’s basically what has happened to construction employment in America’s largest communities,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist.

Simonson noted that Reno-Sparks again had the largest percentage decline with a 32 percent drop in construction employment.

Other cities with large percentage declines in construction employment included Kokomo, Ind. (31 percent); Redding, Calif. (30 percent); El Centro, Calif. (29 percent) and the Cleveland, Ohio area (28 percent). Simonson added that the Phoenix metropolitan area lost the most construction jobs (33,000), followed by Atlanta (24,700) and Las Vegas-Paradise (24,500).

By comparison, only one community saw double-digit job gains. Columbus, Ind. again led the nation in construction job growth with a 20 percent increase, totaling 400 added construction jobs. Four other cities saw increases in construction employment: Anderson, Ind. (6 percent); Harrisburg-Carlisle, Penn. (5 percent); Tulsa, Okla. (3 percent); and the Davenport, Iowa area (1 percent). Those five communities combined added only 1,900 construction jobs during the past 12 months.

“Getting construction workers back on the job will provide a significant economic boost to virtually every community in America,” said Stephen Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer.