State Construction Activity Up in April

The dollar volume of residential and commercial construction rose 4.4% in April from the same month last year to $2.9 billion, according to statistics gathered by the Construction Industry Research Board. California construction employment averaged 548,100 workers in April, down slightly from March but up 51,900 from April 1996. During the first four months of the year, construction volume totaled $10.4 billion, a 6.5% increase from the same period in 1996. Commercial construction rose 22.6% during the four-month period, with Silicon Valley’s booming Santa Clara County accounting for nearly a quarter of the increase.