New Mexico recorded a 3.4 percent increase in construction jobs between February and March — the largest percentage jump in the nation.
The increase brought the number of construction jobs to 46,000 in the state, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The state with the largest numeric increase was California, which added 18,900 jobs.
Part of the rise in New Mexico is attributed to first-phase construction of the $250 million Facebook data center going up in Los Lunas.
Over the next few years, the center is expected to generate hundreds of construction jobs.
The construction industry is among those that has struggled to recover in New Mexico since the onset of the recession that began in December 2007. In that month, the state had 59,300 construction jobs, according to the BLS. The number fell to a low of 40,600 jobs in 2012.
