Construction employment fell by about 11,000 workers in December, leading to an annual gain of just 15,000 workers through 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment report.
Heavy contractors and civil engineering included the lone sector that added jobs in December, with a monthly gain of 2,300 positions.
Meanwhile, specialty trade contractors posted a total decline of 7,800 positions. This number consisted of a decrease of 8,900 jobs among non-residential specialty trade firms and a gain of 1,100 positions among residential specialty trade firms.
Building contractors lost an estimated 5,400 jobs overall, with companies focused primarily on residential construction shedding 4,200 jobs and non-residential builders shedding 1,200 jobs.
The annual global gain of just 15,000 workers was historically remarkable, with Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu commenting in a press release: “Excluding the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the worst 12-month performance since 2011, when the construction industry was still reeling from the Great Recession.”
Basu also pointed to specific concerns about December job losses in both the nonresidential specialty trade and nonresidential building categories, noting, “While the nonresidential side of the industry performed significantly better over the past year, even the momentum in that segment has started to wane. jobs in December.”
Ken Simonson, chief economist at the Associated General Contractors of America, also pointed to the decline in nonresidential jobs by the end of 2025, citing changes in economic policy over the past year.
“Nonresidential construction employment expanded modestly in 2025, but was held back by the unwillingness of many homeowners to commit to projects in light of ongoing political turmoil,” Simonson said in a news release. “Based on our recent survey, it appears that 2026 will also present only limited opportunities for growth.”
ABC’s Basu echoed those remarks, saying: “Recent backlog declines, ongoing declines in construction spending and job losses in December suggest it could be a tough start to 2026 for the industry.”
Even so, Jeffrey D. Shoaf, CEO of AGC of America, commented that, “Although they are less enthusiastic about the demandIn most types of construction work this year, most companies expect to have enough work to expand their workforce. That assumes they’ll be able to find enough skilled workers to hire amid chronic federal underinvestment in construction workforce development.”
