The construction sector in Los Angeles County will add nearly 9,500 jobs over the next five years, a growth rate of 6%, according to forecast details released Feb. 4 by the Southern California Partnership for Jobs.

The Anaheim-based partnership — a coalition of labor groups and employers formed to jointly advocate for infrastructure investment in Southern California — released its first construction industry forecast for the Southern California region in late January. Figures for L.A. County were made available to the Business Journal in early February.

According to the forecast, the county will add roughly 9,450 construction obs through 2024 on top of the 152,000 jobs in the sector as of last year.

About 3,000 of those additional jobs are projected for the building equipment contractors sub-industry, with another 1,600 jobs destined for the foundation/structure/building exterior contractor sub-industry. The nonresidential building construction sub-sector is also projected to add about 1,400 jobs.

The forecast also looked at wage growth in L.A. County’s construction sector. From 2018 to 2019, construction wages grew by 0.7%, or $493, reaching $68,024. That’s about 9% above the general average annual wage of $62,179.

Healthcare/biomed, energy, engineering/construction and infrastructure reporter Howard Fine can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @howardafine.