CINCINNATI — Cincinnati is one of the top metro areas in the U.S. for the number of construction jobs added since June 2024, according to a new report.
We learned the new job figures on Wednesday while on a tour of the Duke Energy Convention Center, which is slated to be under construction until the end of 2025.
"We're overseeing the full $264 million renovation here. As you can imagine, us being a development organization in Cincinnati, the workforce is really at the crux of that," said Katie Westbrook, 3CDC Senior Vice President of Development. "So having a strong and healthy workforce that's growing in Cincinnati is really key to making sure that we can continue doing what we're doing right now."
WATCH: Here's a look at where the Duke Energy Convention Center renovation stands
Cincinnati's metro area added more new construction jobs this past year than all but one U.S. metro area, per the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), with 5,800 added between June 2024 and June 2025. That's an 11% increase.
"Cincinnati is showing the country what construction-led growth looks like," Daniel Edwards, AGC of Ohio CEO, said. "That growth is real, but it's also fragile, because it depends on our ability to continue to recruit and train and retain the next generation of skilled workers."
"It's a challenge, because we probably spent, I don't know, half a century stigmatizing the trades," Jordan Vogel with Allied Construction Industries said.
Vogel said an emerging challenge is that older construction workers are retiring from jobs faster than young people are filling them.
"If you're interested in a rewarding career in the trades and you want to work with some of the best constructors in the nation, the Cincinnati region is where you want to be," said Vogel. "We are building like crazy."
