Workforce
Construction Jobs Rebound, Jumping by 26K in March
The construction industry boosted hiring by 17,000 positions in May, with nonresidential contractors leading the way with an overall net gain of 15,700 positions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
A month after construction hiring was reported to have fallen to its slowest rate on record, contractors reversed course and increased hiring in March, collectively adding an estimated 26,000 positions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' April 3 report.
As they've done in the past, specialty contractors led the jobs spree, adding an estimated 15,100 positions during March, with residential specialty contractors boosting employment with 11,200 new hires, and nonresidential specialty trade contractors adding an estimated 3,900 positions.
Building contractors added 7,600 positions, with companies working primarily in the nonresidential sector hiring 4,500 new workers, and residential-focused contractors filling roughly 3,100 positions.
Heavy and civil engineering firms added an estimated 3,800 new workers, according to BLS.
“Industrywide employment has expanded by an average of 19,300 jobs per month in 2026,” Associated Builders & Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu said in a statement. “That’s a marked improvement from 2025, when construction employment actually declined."
Ken Simonson, chief economist with Associated General Contractors of America, noting the March increase "more than offset" February's 13,000-position decline, added, “It is especially heartening to see that the gains were present among all five subsectors of the industry.”
Concerns persist, though, Basu says, noting that “the March jobs data do not capture the detrimental ways in which the conflict in Iran will continue to affect the construction industry.
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“Oil prices have risen to heights not seen since 2022 and diesel prices have soared to $5.40 per gallon, up more than $1.90 per gallon from the start of 2026," Basu continued, adding that higher treasury yields "have put renewed pressure on borrowing costs."
Basu noted that while ABC’s Construction Confidence Index indicated in February that contractors were relatively optimistic about the industry's prospects, he said, "It remains to be seen how long that optimism can persist under current economic conditions.”
