There’s less bad news in the most recent construction industry employment figures, but it’s bad news just the same.

Construction job gains “were more widespread across the country and job losses were generally less severe in July than in June,” the Associated General Contractors of America reported Aug. 20.

Citing Labor Department figures, the AGC said 26 states added construction jobs in July, compared to 19 in June, while six states added construction jobs over the past year and most others are losing far fewer jobs than previously, association officials noted.

“Encouraging as it is to see some modest signs of progress, it is increasingly unlikely we’ll keep seeing these kinds of gains over the next few months,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “There is little to indicate that construction will be adding workers to a significant extent any time soon.”

Michigan ranked No. 26 among the states in construction employment percentage change from July 2009 to July 2010. Our state has been in the middle of the pack among the states for a good part of the year, but that’s not saying much: 7,400 construction workers were added to the jobless rolls during that 12-month period, representing a drop of 6.0 percent in employment.

Compare that to the building industry basket case called Nevada, which lost 22.4 percent of its construction employment from July 2009 to July 2010. Only six states, led by Kansas (+6.9 percent) gained construction jobs during that period.

Simonson cautioned that the improved employment picture may be attributable to a bulge in federal stimulus-funded projects that could soon fade. “There are few signs of life in privately funded construction, and state and local budget deficit projections are forcing further cuts in non-stimulus public projects,” he said.

AGC officials urged Congress to act on long-stalled infrastructure bills that would build on momentum from the stimulus. “Continued neglect of our aging infrastructure will damage our economic competitiveness and plunge the construction industry into another cycle of layoffs and hardship,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer.