The construction industry lost 11,000 jobs on net in December, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment grew by 14,000 jobs, an increase of 0.2%.
Nonresidential construction employment decreased by 7,800 positions on net, with losses in 2 of the 3 subcategories. Heavy and civil engineering added 2,300 jobs, while nonresidential specialty trade and nonresidential building lost 8,900 and 1,200 jobs, respectively.
The construction unemployment rate was 5.0% in December. Unemployment across all industries dropped to 4.4% but is 0.3 percentage points higher than one year ago.
“The construction industry added just 14,000 net new jobs in 2025,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Excluding the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, that’s the worst 12-month performance since 2011, when the construction industry was still spiraling from the Great Recession. While the nonresidential side of the industry performed significantly better over the past year, even that segment’s momentum has started to wane. Nonresidential specialty trade contractors, demand for which led the industry in 2025, posted its worst month in nearly four years, losing 8,900 jobs in December.
“Despite this dismal performance, the industry’s unemployment rate remains relatively low, down 0.2 percentage points from the same time last year,” said Basu. “This unusual dynamic—decreasing employment but a steady unemployment rate—likely reflects the effects of immigration policy on the industry’s workforce. As a result, average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory construction workers were up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis in both November and December, a sharp increase from the 3.9% increase observed in October. While contractors remain optimistic about hiring over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, recent declines in backlog, ongoing declines in construction spending and December’s job losses suggest it could be a difficult start to 2026 for the industry.”
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