Construction employment declined in 285 of 337 metropolitan areas in the past year, Buffalo included, according to an analysis released Tuesday by the Associated General Contractors of America.

In the Buffalo metropolitan area, the loss of 200 jobs in construction, mining and logging represented a decline of 1 percent from a year ago to 20,400 from 20,600. That placed Buffalo 55th on the nationwide industry list.

The employment figures, taken from federal statistics, demonstrate how weak overall demand for construction is outpacing the benefits of the stimulus' $135 billion in construction-related investments.

"The overall lack of demand for new construction is hurting more than the stimulus is helping at this point," said Ken Simonson, the AGC's chief economist. "While more metropolitan areas have started adding construction jobs, most are still experiencing losses nearly four years after the construction downturn began."

Elmira, in New York state's Southern Tier, was among the gainers, adding just 100 jobs but up 6 percent year-over-year.

Calvert-Charles-Prince George's counties in Maryland added more raw construction jobs (1,900, or 5 percent) than any other metro area, while Hanford-Corcoran, Calif., added the highest percentage (22 percent, or 200 jobs).

Chicago lost more construction jobs (21,300 jobs, or 15 percent) than any other metro area, while Pascagoula, Miss. (2,000 jobs, or 32 percent), and Flagstaff, Ariz. (700 jobs, or 32 percent), lost the highest percentage. Other areas experiencing large declines in construction employment included Las Vegas (16,500 jobs, or 26 percent); Houston (16,300 jobs, or 9 percent); Los Angeles (15,900 jobs, or 13 percent); and Seattle (12,400 jobs, or 16 percent).