Construction contributed $7.8 billion to Oklahoma’s $206.1 billion gross domestic product last year, or 3.8% of the total, according to Associated General Contractors of Oklahoma.
Here’s a snapshot of construction’s economic impact in Oklahoma and the United States:
Economic impact: Construction accounted for $887 billion, or 4.1%, of the na- nation's gross domestic product in 2019. The GDP, which is the value of all goods and services produced in the country, totaled $21.4 trillion.
Construction spending:
Nonresidential spending in the U.S. totaled $814 billion in 2019. Residential construction spending in the U.S. totaled $551 billion. Private nonresidential spending in Oklahoma totaled $3.8 billion, and state and local spending totaled $4.1 billion. Totals were not available for residential or federal construction spending.
Construction employment, seasonally adjusted: Residential and nonresidential construction employed 7.2 million people in July 2020. That was a decline of 306,000 workers, or 4.1%, from July 2019. The July 2020 numbers were 6.6% lower than in April 2006, when construction employment peaked in the U.S.
In Oklahoma, construction employment totaled 75,100 workers in July 2020, a drop of 9.8% from July 2019. The most recent numbers showed an 11% decline from the state’s peak in December 2018.