Construction payroll positions are growing in Richmond region.

Total construction-related payroll positions in the Richmond region rose 5.2 percent over May's trailing 12 months, nearly reaching the 5.8 percent year-over-year growth rate from 2005. Those are the highest employment numbers prior to the recession, according to research analysis from Jones Lang LaSalle  (JLL), a commercial real estate company.

Comparatively, construction payroll positions averaged a negative 8.2 percent growth rate between 2008 and 2011.

“The vast majority of construction related job growth is the result of the ongoing upswing in the single family and multifamily residential sectors as well as growth in the number of road and highway projects in the Richmond area,” Adam T. Lawson, a senior associate in the Richmond office of Jones Lang LaSalle, said in a statement. Lawson added that the bulk of commercial contracting work has been focused on institutional, education and industrial projects while office projects have been “comparatively scarce. I don't envision spec buildings coming out of the ground anytime soon, but declining vacancy in the “A” set — particularly in the high bay industrial market, will likely result in build-to-suit construction in the not-so-distant future.”