Construction employment in February had the best net positive showing since January 2007, according to an analysis of U.S. Labor Department data by the Associated General Contractors of America.

The organization's analysis showed that construction employment rose in 30 states, including Washington and Idaho, in that month, compared with the year-earlier month, while 18 states lost construction jobs and two held steady.

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between January and February, while 21 states had decreases for the month.

"The number of states with year-over-year construction job gains keeps rising, which is very encouraging," says Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. "But the industry is still struggling in too many states to declare that construction is in full recovery."

Data show that Washington state had 139,600 employed construction workers in February, up 1.3 percent from a year earlier, ranking it at 24th nationally in construction-job growth. The state lost jobs, however, in a month-to-month comparison, with 400 fewer construction workers employed in February than in January.

In Idaho, 31,400 construction workers were employed in February, for a 3.3 percent increase compared with the year-earlier month, ranking it 19th nationally. Industry employment also increased in February compared with January by 200 jobs.

Simonson says that North Dakota again had the largest percentage gain in construction jobs between February and the year-earlier month, at 18.8 percent with 4,200 additional jobs, followed by D.C., 13.2 percent with 1,500 more jobs; and Tennessee, 7.9 percent with 8,400 more jobs.

Pennsylvania added the most jobs, at 9,900, followed by Tennessee and Texas.

Among the 18 states that lost construction jobs during the past year, Simonson says, were Nevada, down 12 percent with 6,800 fewer jobs, followed by Alabama, down 8.5 percent with 7,000 fewer jobs, and Alaska, down 6.9 percent with 1,100 fewer jobs. Florida, with 17,100 fewer jobs, lost the most, followed by Alabama and Nevada.

Employment was unchanged over the year in Mississippi and South Dakota.

Mississippi, however, experienced the highest percentage increase in construction employment between January and February, at 3.3 percent, followed by D.C. and Illinois, which each added 3,200 jobs. Illinois added the most construction jobs during the month, followed by Texas and Ohio.

Of the 21 states that lost construction jobs for the month, Nevada had the steepest percentage decline and largest number of losses, down 8.1 percent with 4,400 fewer jobs. Rhode Island had the second-largest percentage drop, down 4.5 percent. Georgia experienced the second-largest number of job losses from January to February, with 3,900 fewer jobs.

The wide range of results by states shows that it is important for policy makers to adequately fund infrastructure programs and remove tax and regulatory barriers to private investment, AGC officials assert. They note that private construction activity has offset declines in public investment in some states but not all.

"Washington (D.C.) keeps sending mixed signals that are impeding a full recovery in construction," contends Stephen E. Sandherr, the association's CEO. "While it is good that Congress did not let highway and transit funding lapse this week (in late March), there is much more to be done to sustain long-term infrastructure investment, and to provide certainty about the tax treatment and regulations surrounding private investment."