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Wisconsin lost 10,200 construction jobs in the recent 12 months, second only to Alaska in the percentage of job losses in the sector, a new report shows.

The report from Associated General Contractors of America says Wisconsin lost 11.1% of its construction employment from June 2011 to June 2012.

Only Alaska was worse, with a 20.5% job loss in the construction industry.

The data shows how fragile and fragmented the construction recovery is, said Ken Simonson, the trade group's chief economist.

"Although private sector demand for structures has risen in most states, improvement in single-family home building is spotty, and public investment is shrinking," Simonson said.

It's unknown exactly why Wisconsin's construction employment fell so much, although some of it could have been from the completion of a few large projects without follow-up work in the pipeline.

Timing has a lot to do with the employment numbers, said Bob Barker, executive vice president of the Associated General Contractors of Wisconsin.

"There have been times when we have ranked at the bottom, and there have been times we have been ranked at the top," Barker said.

Because of its shorter construction season, Wisconsin got hit harder than some other states, added Dennis Slater, president of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, a Milwaukee-based trade group that represents construction equipment companies.

Twenty-five states added jobs in the industry in the past year, according to the report. Washington, D.C., added the highest percentage of new construction jobs, at 17.8% or 2,100 jobs, followed by North Dakota at 16.2% or 3,800 jobs.

But the employment is likely to remain flat or shrink if federal and state officials continue to pull back on large infrastructure projects, Simonson said.

"The public sector has been cutting construction in all areas," he said. "State governments have seen some pickup in revenue, but they're devoting it to Medicaid, public employee pensions and retiree health care. They haven't increased construction budgets, from what I have seen."

Wisconsin contractors say they've seen some uptick in projects in recent months, although many of their clients are still cautious about spending. The caution has had an effect on hiring.

With revenues down, companies have kept their overhead as lean as possible, said Tom Schuchardt, president of KBS Construction Co. in Milwaukee.

"We are having some difficulties getting subcontractor bids, and we think it's because everybody thinned out their staff when the economy went into the downturn. They are very reluctant to add people back," Schuchardt said.

Single-family home construction has moved up from its absolute low point but is still nothing to get excited about, Simonson said.

"And I don't have a clear answer as to why the employment numbers were so dismal in Wisconsin," he said. "I was a little bit shocked because I have always been told the Midwestern states don't get the extreme highs and lows, and this time Wisconsin came in as one of the worst" states for construction job losses.

Homebuilders aren't launching projects on the hope they will find buyers, said Bruce Bittles, chief economist for Robert W. Baird & Co.

And the depressed job numbers have made things worse, Bittles said.

"The weak labor market has led to consumer confidence falling to levels that are often associated with a recession. That's how low it has come," he said.

Some contractors have been shrinking the size of their businesses for years, refusing to bid on jobs where at best they break even, Simonson said. Others have said the risk is too high, and they've closed their businesses.

Spending on highway projects has held steady, and the recent approval of federal legislation funding transportation infrastructure improvements will boost contractors' confidence.

"The major projects you see under way now have been in the pipeline for quite some time," Slater said. "What we hope now is the next ones coming up will start to fill in the gaps. The next construction season should be better."

CONSTRUCTION JOBS

Seasonally adjusted construction employment, ranked by percentage change, for all 50 states and the District of Columbia from June 2011 to June 2012:

5 largest declines

Rank State % change No. of jobs 51. Alaska -20.5 3,200 50. Wisconsin -11.1 10,200 49. Mississippi -9.7 4,700 48. Alabama -9.1 7,300 47. Florida -7.4 24,600

5 largest gains

Rank State % change No. of jobs 1. Dist. of Columbia 17.8 2,100 2. North Dakota 16.2 3,800 3. Montana 14.6 3,300 4. Nebraska 11.4 4,700 5. Arizona 10.2 11,200