• While overall employment in the Commonwealth of Virginia increased 10.54% between 1997 and 2002, employment within the construction industry rose by 17.75%, creating 31,940 new construction jobs and creating 1,173 new construction establishments in 5 years.

• In the five years between 1997 and 2002, the average salary for employees in Virginia increased by 25.77%, while the average salary for construction workers in Virginia increased by 21.79%. 

• Construction workers in Virginia saw a salary increase of 21.79% from 1997-2002, compared to the average salary increase construction workers across the United States, which increased by 14.97%. 

• The number of businesses in Virginia grew from 128,850 in 1997 to 136,082 in 2002, an increase of 5.61%.  Construction establishments in Virginia however, increased by 6.00% from 19,537 in 1997 to 20,710 in 2002.

• Of the 7,232 new businesses established between 1997 and 2002 in Virginia, 1,173 or 16.22% of those establishments were in the construction industry.

• According to Union Membership and Coverage Database, available at www.unionstats.com, in 2006, only 1.8 percent of Virginia’s private construction workforce belonged to a construction trade union.  That means that approximately 98 out of 100 Virginia’s private construction workers do not belong to a labor union.

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

• Virginia does not have a state prevailing wage law.