Construction Unemployment Rate Falls 0.3% Year Over Year
Key Highlights
- The national not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rate was 3.5% in September, down 0.3 percentage points year over year
- Construction payroll employment was 103,000 higher than in September 2025; seasonally adjusted employment reached 8.4 million
- Industry pressures include higher energy, materials and labor costs, alongside insurance premiums, tariffs, labor shortages and interest rates.
WASHINGTON, DC — The not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rate for September was 3.5%, according to data released October 30 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That represents a 0.3% decrease from one year ago.
National NSA payroll construction employment was 103,000 higher than in September 2025. Seasonally adjusted payroll construction employment was 8.4 million, or 9.9% above its pre-pandemic peak of 7.6 million.
For September, all 50 states had a construction unemployment rate below 10% and all but three states—Alaska, Minnesota and North Dakota—had a rate below 6%.
Estimated state construction unemployment rates were lower than their pre-pandemic (February 2020) level in 39 states. As of September 2026, 17 states had lower construction unemployment rates compared to September 2019, 31 states had higher rates and two (California and New Hampshire) had the same rate.
Higher Prices Across the Board
“The construction industry is facing increased energy prices, materials prices and labor costs, while longstanding issues of higher insurance premiums, tariffs on building materials, shortages of skilled labor and rising interest rates continue to plague the industry,” said Bernard Markstein, President and Chief Economist of Markstein Advisors, who analyzed the data for Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). “Data center construction is also absorbing a significant share of available skilled labor and contributing to elevated building materials prices.”
In September, the national NSA construction unemployment rate rose 0.4% from August. Among the states, only four had lower rates, 44 posted higher rates and two (Maryland and Oregon) had the same estimated construction unemployment rates as in August.
The Top States
The six states with the lowest estimated NSA construction unemployment rates for September were:
- Maryland, 1.7%
- North Carolina, 1.8%
- Georgia and Tennessee (tie), 2.1%
- South Carolina and Utah (tie), 2.2%
Maryland had its lowest September NSA estimated construction unemployment rate on record at 1.7%. North Carolina (1.8%) and Tennessee (2.1%) had their second lowest construction unemployment rate on record, behind 1.6% (2019) and 2.0% (2024), respectively. South Carolina (2.2%) had its lowest rate since its 2.1% in 2023.
The Bottom States
The five states with the highest NSA construction unemployment rates in September were:
- Massachusetts, 5.5%
- Michigan, 5.8%
- Minnesota, 6.7%
- Alaska, 7.5%
- North Dakota, 9.5%
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.
