The construction industry lost 11,000 jobs on net in December 2025, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of data recently 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 percent.
Nonresidential construction employment decreased by 7,800 positions on net, with losses in two of the three 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 percent in December. Unemployment across all industries dropped to 4.4 percent 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.”
Although demand for nonresidential specialty trade contractors led the industry in 2025, the category posted its worst month in nearly four years, losing 8,900 jobs in December, Basu said.
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“Despite this dismal performance, the industry’s unemployment rate remains relatively low, down 0.2 percentage points from the same time last year,” he added. “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 percent on a year-over-year basis in both November and December, a sharp increase from the 3.9 percent increase observed in October.”
Going into the new year, “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,” Basu said.
