Report: NYC leads construction jobs boom in NY state

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York state's comptroller says the construction industry is booming in the Empire State, especially in New York City.

A report released Thursday by Democrat Thomas DiNapoli (dee-NAP'-oh-lee) says the state set an employment record for the fourth consecutive year in 2018.

The report says the state's construction industry is nearly 11 percent larger than it was a decade ago. The city accounted for half of the statewide construction job gains since 2010.

New York state had the nation's fourth-largest construction industry last year with nearly 400,000 jobs, trailing only California, Texas and Florida.

The report says construction employment downstate grew steadily starting in 2010, reaching nearly 158,000 jobs in the city last year.

In upstate New York, many counties haven't recovered all their construction jobs lost during the recession.