• While overall employment in the State of Mississippi dropped by -0.80% between 1997 and 2002, employment within the construction industry rose by 3.11%, creating 1,485 new construction jobs in 5 years.

• While the average worker in Mississippi brought home $25,270 in pay in 2002, the state’s construction workers made on average $29,170, an increase of 13.37% more than the average worker in Mississippi. 

• In the five years between 1997 and 2002, the average salary for employees in Mississippi increased by 18.75%, while the average salary for construction workers in Mississippi increased by 20.40%. 

• Construction workers in Mississippi saw a salary increase of 20.40% from 1997-2002, compared to the average salary increase construction workers across the United States, which increased by 14.97%. 

• According to Union Membership and Coverage Database, available at www.unionstats.com, in 2006, only 3.2 percent of Mississippi’s private construction workforce belonged to a construction trade union.  That means that approximately 97 out of 100 Mississippi’s private construction workers do not belong to a labor union.

Data are from the U.S. Bureau of the Census except where noted.

• Mississippi does not have a state prevailing wage law