The construction industry added 33,000 jobs on net in January, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of data released this week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). On a year-over-year basis, industry employment grew by 44,000 jobs, an increase of 0.5%.
Nonresidential construction employment expanded by 27,900 positions, with gains in two of the three subcategories. Nonresidential specialty trade added 25,100 jobs, while nonresidential building added 3,600 new positions. Heavy and civil engineering lost 800 jobs in January.
The construction unemployment rate was 6.9% in January. Unemployment across all industries decreased to 4.3% and is 0.3 percentage points higher than one year ago.
“The construction industry, much like the broader labor market, rebounded in January,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “While that’s a welcome development, the industry lost 1,000 jobs in 2025, the first calendar year decline since 2020 and 2010 before that. Much of the industry’s weakness is concentrated in the residential segment, where employment has declined by 43,600 jobs over the past year.
“Despite the lack of job growth in 2025, the industry’s unemployment rate is only modestly higher than one year ago,” added Basu. “That dynamic at least partially stems from immigration enforcement and the downward pressure it has put on the industry’s labor supply. Neither last year’s weak employment growth nor current labor force dynamics have weighed on contractor confidence, with ABC members still upbeat about both their sales and staffing levels over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index.”
Visit abc.org/economics for the Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index, plus analysis of spending, employment, job openings and the Producer Price Index.
About Associated Builders and Contractors
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national construction industry trade association established in 1950 with 67 chapters and more than 23,000 members. Founded on the merit shop philosophy, ABC helps members offer a robust employee value proposition, develop people, win work, and deliver that work safely, ethically and profitably for the betterment of the communities in which ABC and its members work.
