Construction employment, not seasonally adjusted, rose year-over-year (y/y) from December 2024 to December 2025 in 176 (49%) of the 360 metro areas (including divisions of larger metros) for which the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) posts construction employment data, fell in 129 (36%), and was unchanged in 55, according to an analysis AGC released on Thursday. (For most metros, BLS posts only combined totals for mining, logging, and construction; AGC treats these totals as construction-only.) Washington, D.C.-Md. added the most construction jobs (5,800 or 12%), followed by Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. (5,600 or 9%); and Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, Va.-W.Va. (5,300, 6%). The largest percentage gain—16%—occurred in Elizabethtown, Ky. (300 jobs), followed by 12% gains in Washington, D.C.-Md. and Bowling Green, Ky. (500 jobs). The largest job losses occurred in Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas (-8,600, -11%) and New York City (-8,600, -6%), followed by Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (-8,200, -7%); Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale (-8,000, -5%); and Nassau County-Suffolk County, N.Y. (-6,300, -8%). The largest percentage loss occurred in Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, followed by 9% losses in Reno, Nev. (-2,100 jobs) and Bellingham, Wash. (-3,800 jobs), and an 8% decline in Hanford-Corcoran, Calif. (-100 jobs); Colorado Springs, Colo. (-1,400 jobs); and Nassau County-Suffolk County.
There were 292,000 job openings in construction, seasonally adjusted, at the end of December, a rise of 87,000 or 42% y/y, BLS reported on Tuesday. The job openings rate (openings as a share of employment plus openings) rose from 2.4% to 3.4%. Hires for the full month totaled 347,000, a gain of 20,000 (6.1%) y/y, while the hires rate (hires as a share of employment) rose to 4.2% from 4.0%. Layoffs and discharges increased 28% y/y, from 138,000 to 177,000, and the layoff rate (layoffs and discharges as a share of employment) rose from 1.7% to 2.1%. Quits increased by 31% y/y, from 113,000 to 148,000, and the quits rate (quits as a share of employment) climbed from 1.4% to 1.8%. The data suggest continued workforce stability, with firms doing more hiring while turnover remains relatively contained.
The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI)—“a monthly measure based on the three-month moving value of nonresidential building projects going into planning, shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year to 18 months”—declined 6.3% in January from a downwardly revised December reading, Dodge Construction Network reported today. “Data center projects continue to lead the way, but…most nonresidential sectors are now easing into a more sustainable growth pattern. On the commercial side, planning momentum slowed across all commercial sectors apart from retail stores. Within institutional planning, education, healthcare, and public building planning slowed in January—while recreational and religious building projects continued to expand.” The DMI rose 29% y/y, with commercial up 26% (+17% when data centers are removed) and institutional segment up 34%.
The “first year of new settlements [wages, health and welfare, retirement, apprentice, and other employer payments] reached in 2025 for union craft workers in the construction industry had an average [mean] increase of 4.7%,” the Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC) reported on Tuesday. “From 2020 to 2023, increases rose sharply…going from 2.8 to 4.7% [but] remained stable at 4.7%” since 2023. A majority (58%) of the increases in 2025 were between 3.6% and 5.5%. As in 2024, among seven regions, percentage increases were largest in the Northwest (5.4% in 2024, 5.2% in 2024) and smallest in the Northeast (4.3% in 2025, 4.0% in 2024). Among 17 crafts, the average increase ranged from 3.7% for plumbers to 5.6% for pipefitters/plumbers. “The average total package increase in 2025 for all contract years [e.g., previous years such as 2023 and 2024 as well as future years] for union crafts in construction was 4.0%. CLRC projects increases to reach approximately 4.2% by 2027.”
“Hotel construction in the United States closed the fourth quarter of 2025 with a total pipeline of 6,146 projects and 720,089 rooms,” consultancy Lodging Econometrics (LE) reported on January 26. “New hotel openings in 2025 reached 640 with 74,079 rooms in the U.S., expanding the nation’s hotel supply (census) by 1.3% at year-end. [LE] forecasts continued growth in the years ahead, with 708 new hotels and 80,034 rooms expected to open in 2026, for a 1.4% increase in supply. LE analysts expect accelerated growth in new hotel openings again in 2027 with 824 new hotels and 88,095 rooms scheduled to open by year-end, for a 1.5% anticipated expansion in the national hotel census.”
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