Thanks to some major, high-profile construction projects, the job picture for construction workers in Columbus is better than most other cities around the country, according to a new report.

Construction employment declined in 276 of 337 metropolitan areas between July 2009 and July 2010, according to a report from the Associated General Contractors of America.

Columbus is one of the few metro areas that saw construction employment increase during that period.

Construction employment in Central Ohio grew by 3 percent, or about 1,000 jobs since last summer.

For construction job growth Columbus ranks 16th out of the 337 metro areas and ranks second among metro areas with a population of 1 million or more, behind only Kansas City.

But while the report is certainly better than losing jobs, much of the Columbus construction employment has been boosted by a few large construction projects such as the expansion of Nationwide Children's Hospital, construction of the Scioto Mile along the Scioto River in downtown Columbus and expansion of the Franklin County Courthouse complex.

"Columbus is a little bit of an anomaly because of all of the big projects moving forward," said Jim Hess, board of directors president for The Builders Exchange of Central Ohio and senior vice president of Messer Construction Co.

"Those projects tend to taint the numbers," he said.

Other big projects that are just starting or are about to break ground include the expansion of The Ohio State University Medical Center and a new 500-plus room hotel across the street from the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

Those projects, too, should help provide some construction jobs as the rest of the construction market remains stagnant.

"Beyond those major projects the pickings are still pretty slim," Hess said. "It shows a rosier picture than what it really is like."

Still, he said, having those big projects is better than not having them, which is the situation in many other cities.

"They go a long way to supporting construction employment," Hess said. "Compared to other cities Columbus is in a better position."

But he also said those projects can take years to plan and develop and that right now there are few, if any, new such projects in the pipeline for the future.

"Those opportunities are not as numerous as they have been in the past," Hess said. "People, as you would expect, are closely evaluating their capital needs. There's a void in the planning not being done now."

The construction industry has been hit hard by the recession and sputtering recovery that has followed.

Nationally, construction employment peaked at 7.7 million in mid-2006 and has since tumbled 28 percent to 5.6 million.

The industry's unemployment rate in July was 17.3 percent, not seasonally adjusted, nearly double the all-industry rate, according to the Associated General Contractors.

Since 2007 Ohio has lost more than 50,000 construction jobs, according to the report, and in the past year alone the state shed another 3 percent of its construction jobs.

Nationally, the new employment figures show the widespread decline in demand for construction services that continues to outpace stimulus-funded work, AGCA officials said.

"There is no doubt that we have seen an increase in stimulus activity this summer," said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. "Unfortunately, that increase in stimulus activity is largely being overshadowed by continuing declines in overall demand for construction that are likely to persist well into next year."

Columbus was just one of 31 metro areas in the nation to add construction jobs in the past 12 months.

In Ohio, the Cleveland area lost 6 percent of its construction jobs while Cincinnati saw a modest drop of 0.5 percent. Dayton fell 5 percent and Toledo fell 2 percent.

Steubenville-Weirton, which includes the mining and logging industries, saw the biggest drop in the state, losing 14 percent of its construction jobs.

Calvert-Charles-Prince George's counties in Maryland added more construction jobs (2,800, 8 percent) than any other metro area while Eau Claire, Wisc. added the highest percentage (16 percent, 500 jobs).

Other areas adding jobs included Kansas City (1,700 jobs, 9 percent) and Pittsburgh (1,500 jobs, 3 percent).

The Chicago-Joliet-Naperville area lost more construction jobs (32,900 jobs, 23 percent) than any other metro area, reflecting a construction strike that has since ended. Flagstaff, Ariz. (700 jobs, 32 percent) lost the highest percentage.

Other areas with large declines in construction employment include Las Vegas (14,800 jobs, 24 percent) and Houston (14,700 jobs, 8 percent).

"As much as we would hate to see how much worse the construction employment figures would be without the stimulus, the fact is our industry is continuing to suffer even as some areas of the economy have begun to expand," said Stephen Sandherr, the association's chief executive officer.