A month after construction hiring was reported to have fallen to its slowest pace on record, contractors reversed course and increased hiring in March, collectively adding about 26,000 positions, according to an April 3 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As they have done in the past, specialty contractors led the way in employment, adding an estimated 15,100 positions in March, with residential specialty contractors increasing employment by 11,200 new hires and nonresidential specialty contractors adding approximately 3,900 positions.
Building contractors added 7,600 jobs, with companies working primarily in the non-residential sector hiring 4,500 new workers and housing-focused contractors filling roughly 3,100 positions.
Civil and heavy engineering firms added approximately 3,800 new workers, according to the BLS.
“Employment across the industry has expanded by an average of 19,300 jobs per month in 2026,” Associated Builders & Contractors chief economist Anirban Basu said in a statement. “This is a marked improvement from 2025, when construction employment declined.”
Ken Simonson, chief economist at the Associated General Contractors of America, noted that the March increase “more than offset” the 13,000 position drop in February, adding, “It’s especially encouraging to see that the gains were present among all five industry subsectors.”
Still, concerns persist, Basu says, noting that “March’s employment data does not capture the damaging ways in which the conflict in Iran will continue to affect the construction industry.
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“Oil prices have risen to levels not seen since 2022 and diesel prices have soared to $5.40 a gallon, up $1.90 a gallon since early 2026,” Basu continued, adding that higher Treasury yields “have put renewed pressure on borrowing costs.”
Basu noted that while the ABC’s construction confidence index indicated in February that contractors were relatively optimistic about the industry’s outlook, he said: “It remains to be seen how long that optimism can persist in the current economic conditions.”
