Large construction and architecture firms see job growth

The largest construction and architecture firms are seeing healthy growth in their employment figures, suggesting a rebound in building activity, Crain’s reported.

Full-time employment at the top construction companies was up 1.6 percent in 2012, while the number of architects at the largest firms was up 8 percent from a year earlier. Though the job gains at many architecture firms were less than those seen in the first years of the millennium, there are those who insist that ultimately, that is a good thing.

At FXFOWLE Architects, the number of staffers jumped 37.2 percent last year, but the firm’s growth during the past several years has paled in comparison with the gains of a decade earlier. Managing partner Guy Geier, however, said that the current growth feels more sustainable.

Driving the job gains for many construction and architecture firms has been the residential sector. There, construction spending leaped 55.9 percent last year, to $5.1 billion, according to the New York Building Congress.

Overall construction spending increased 2 percent, to $30.1 billion, the highest level since 2008. [Crain’s] – James Comtois