US construction employment grew in a majority of polled metro areas on-year in October, Kallanish learns from the Associated General Contractors of America.

Of the 358 polled metro areas, construction grew in 78% of them, according to the association.

The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugarland, Texas corridor led the growth with 25,600 jobs, or an increase of 12%.

Bottlenecks still exist due to a lack of qualified workers, the association notes.

"Construction employment has been increasing at a greater rate than overall employment in many metros," says association chief economist Ken Simonson. "But many contractors report they are having difficulty filling hourly craft worker positions, even though construction pay exceeds the average for the overall economy."