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Oregon’s construction industry outpaced all others for job gains in January, on the heels of 2013 growth better than expected, according to a report released Tuesday by the Oregon Employment Department.

Construction’s seasonally adjusted growth for January was 1,700 jobs, according to the report.

Additionally, revised figures showed that construction employment rose from 70,400 in January 2013 to 77,000 in January 2014 – a 9.4 percent increase, according to Nick Beleiciks, a state employment economist.

“We hadn’t seen construction adding many jobs during the recovery,” he said. “But once they started adding jobs (in 2013), they added jobs very quickly.”

Construction is still well below its peak employment of 105,400 jobs, which it recorded in July and August 2007.

Overall, the state experienced weak employment growth in January, with only construction and leisure and hospitality (1,100) adding more than 1,000 jobs, according to the report.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate did not change for the month; it was at 7 percent, down from 8.3 percent in January 2013.