WASHINGTON, DC — Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics September 4 shows the construction industry added 22,000 jobs (on net) in August. Industry employment has expanded by 120,000 jobs—an increase of 1.5%—since August 2025.

Broken out by construction subcategories for the month of August:

Nonresidential specialty trade added 7,800 positions.

Heavy and civil engineering added 4,400 jobs

Nonresidential building lost 1,800 jobs.

(Altogether, nonresidential construction employment grew by 10,400 positions.)

The construction unemployment rate fell to 3.1% in August, down 0.1 percentage points from August 2025. Unemployment across all industries remained unchanged at 4.1% and is 0.2 percentage points lower than one year ago.

Construction Sector Grows as Homebuilding Shrinks

“The construction industry added jobs for the sixth straight month in August and, on a year-over-year basis, is growing its employment base at the fastest pace since February 2025,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “That growth has occurred despite a shrinking homebuilding segment.

“Hiring remains highly concentrated in the nonresidential specialty trade contractor category, a byproduct of the rapid and ongoing increase in data center-related construction activity,” said Basu. “Given the lengthy backlog levels of contractors with data center work, as reflected in ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator, the artificial intelligence buildout will continue to support construction employment growth during the next several months.”

Visit abc.org/economics for the Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index, plus analysis of spending, employment, job openings and the Producer Price Index.