The the construction industry added about 33,000 jobs in January, according to data recently released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Year-over-year, construction employment included 44,000 more jobs than in January 2025.
Since December 2025, the non-residential sector has seen the bulk of the increase, adding 27,900 jobs, while the residential sector increased by 5,900 jobs. The vast majority of these jobs came from the non-residential specialty contractor category, with 25,100 new positions filled. The only category that saw a loss in January was non-residential heavy and civil engineering, which declined by 800 jobs.
“The construction industry, like the broader labor market, rebounded in January,” Anirban Basu, chief economist at Associated Builders and Contractors, said in a statement. “While this is a welcome development, the industry lost 1,000 jobs in 2025, the first calendar-year decline since 2020 and 2010 before that.”
Annually, all of the gains occurred in the non-residential sector, where 87,000 jobs were added. Residential employment fell by 43,600 jobs, resulting in an overall net positive of 44,000 jobs.
“It’s encouraging to see solid construction job gains in January after a year of uneven employment,” Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, said in a news release. “But these gains will fade by the end of the year unless policymakers provide greater clarity and stability for infrastructure and energy investment.”
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