Concerns have been raised about the loss of thousands of construction jobs in the north-east over a three year period.
Labour MSP Richard Baker said he was shocked to learn that the number of positions in Aberdeen fell from 7,200 in 2009 to 5,800 last year.
Official figures released by Enterprise Minister Fergus Ewing showed the number of construction firms registered in Aberdeen fell from 640 in 2009 to 610 in 2013, which is 15 fewer than the number of firms operating in 2012.
The number of construction enterprises registered in Aberdeenshire fell from 1,430 in 2009 to 1,395 in 2013.
Last year firms across the county provided 8,500 jobs in comparison to 8,800 in 2012 and 8,100 in 2009.
Mr Baker said: “The drop in construction firms operating in the north-east is worrying and is a symptom of the Scottish Government’s flawed approach to supporting local construction employment.
“We need skilled workers locally ahead of work beginning on the Aberdeen bypass which can be an opportunity to improve this situation if it means work going to local construction businesses.
“The Scottish Government has simply not done enough with the power they hold over procurement to support local construction firms and employment here in the north-east.
“These figures show they can’t afford to make the same mistake with the bypass.”
The criticism appears to fly in the face of an announcement last month that local firms will be given the chance to bid for contracts worth up to £100million on the development of the bypass.
Dozens of jobs ranging from pouring concrete to supplying aggregates or noise and vibration monitoring have been unveiled by the Connect Roads consortium, developers of the 28-mile bypass which is being build under a £745million contract.
The contracts are being offered through Public Contracts Scotland (PCS), the Scottish Government’s electronic portal for public sector tenders.