Seasonally adjusted construction employment rose from May 2024 to May 2025 in 33 states and the District of Columbia, declined in 16 states, and was flat in Connecticut, according to AGC’s analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data posted on Tuesday. The most construction jobs were again added in Texas (28,600 or 3.4%) and Ohio (17,000, 6.9%), followed by Michigan (10,400, 5.3%), Florida (9,900, 1.5%), and New Mexico (9,100, 17%). New Mexico and Idaho (10%, 7,200 jobs) again led in percentage gains, followed by Kentucky (7.1%, 6,600), West Virginia (7.1%, 2,400), and Ohio. California lost the most construction jobs (-13,800, -1.5%), followed by Washington (-11,200, -5.0%), New York (-6,800, -1.7%), New Jersey (-4,600, -2.8%), and Massachusetts (-4,000 jobs, -2.3%). The largest percentage loss was in Washington, followed by New Jersey, Massachusetts, Oregon (-2.3%, -2,700), and Arkansas (-2.2%, -1,500). For the month, 27 states and D.C. added construction jobs, 21 states lost jobs, and there was no change in New Hampshire and Wisconsin. Michigan added the most construction jobs (4,300 jobs or 2.1%), followed by Washington (3,100, 1.5%), Missouri (2,200, 1.5%), Texas (2,200, 0.3%), and New Mexico (1,600, 2.6%). The largest percentage gain occurred in Montana (3.9%, 1,400 jobs), followed by Alaska (3.8%, 700), New Mexico, Michigan, and Idaho (1.7%, 1,300). The largest decline in construction jobs from April to May, -1,900, occurred in Virginia (-0.8%) and California ( -0.2%), followed by Oregon (-1,700, -1.5%), Georgia (-1,400, -0.6%), and Minnesota (-1,100, -0.8%). Vermont lost the highest percentage of jobs for the month (-1.9%, -300 jobs), followed by Oregon, Arkansas (-1.4%, -900), Rhode Island (-1.3%, -300), and Virginia. (For D.C., Delaware, and Hawaii, BLS posts combined totals for mining, logging, and construction; AGC treats the changes as all from construction.)
Total construction starts rose 13% from April to May at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, Dodge Construction Network reported on Monday. Nonresidential building starts jumped 18%, residential starts rose 2%, and nonbuilding starts soared 20%. In the first five months of 2025 combined, total starts were down 4% from January through May 2024. Nonresidential starts were down 6%, residential starts were down 5%, and nonbuilding starts were down 2%.
“Businesses canceled another $1.4 billion in new factories and clean energy projects in May, according to E2’s latest monthly analysis of clean energy projects tracked by E2 and Clean Economy Tracker,” the advocacy group E2 reported on Monday. “The latest cancellations—including battery, electric vehicle, and solar panel factories in West Virginia, New York, Alabama, Arizona, and Washington—mean $15.5 billion in new factories and electricity projects have been cancelled since January 1….Amid the cancellations, businesses in May also announced nearly $450 million in investments for new solar, EV and grid and transmission equipment factories across five states….A full map and list of announcements is available at e2.org/announcements/.”
“Rapid growth in the installation of batteries is upending power systems across the United States, with battery-deployed electricity volumes scaling new records nearly every month,” Reuters reported on Tuesday. “Since 2022, utilities have installed more battery capacity than wind capacity, and are set to continue prioritizing the build-out of battery systems.”
“Contractors are projecting 2025 construction staff wages to increase an average of 4.07% (excludes 0% projections), reported by 350 companies in this 43rd edition of the Construction/Construction Management Staff Salary Survey,” consultancy PAS reported on Tuesday. “Typically, projected increases are 0.3% to 0.5% higher by year end, so there is a chance pay will be slightly higher by year end.” PAS reported wages increased an average of 4.6% in 2024, 5.0% in 2023, and 5.1% in 2022.
More steel product suppliers have announced price increases since the increase from 25% to 50% on June 4 in the tariff on imported steel and aluminum. A reader forwarded a June 17 announcement from Insteel Wire Products that “Prices for pipe mesh, engineered structural mesh, and drawn wire will increase by $2/cwt for shipments starting July 1,” along with increases for PC strand shipments. Readers are invited to send information about project timing, materials price changes, and supply chains to ken.simonson@agc.org.
“The U.S. population age 65 and older rose by 3.1% (to 61.2 million) while the population under age 18 decreased by 0.2% (to 73.1 million) from 2023 to 2024,” the Census Bureau reported on Thursday. “From 2020 to 2024, the older population grew by 13.0%, significantly outpacing the 1.4% growth of working-age adults (ages 18 to 64), while the number of children declined by 1.7%.” These trends affect both the potential supply of construction workers and the demand for many types of projects, ranging from schools to senior living and healthcare facilities.
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