NM construction growth among top in nation

New Mexico’s year-long construction boom has pushed the state to top national rankings for employment growth in the industry. The state’s 9.7 percent seasonally adjusted increase in construction jobs between January of this year and the same month a year ago was tied with Nevada for No. 3 in the nation, according to the Associated General Contractors. The top two states for percentage growth over that period were West Virginia, at 14 percent, followed by California at 9.8 percent, the contractors’ association said. Among the reasons for the New Mexico boom is the continuing work on the Facebook project in Los Lunas, where the social media giant is building a data center. The company announced in November that it was tripling the original size of the project and would build a total of six buildings.