Construction employment added 2,000 jobs on net in July, according to Associated Builders and Contractors. On a year-over-year basis, the industry has expanded by 96,000 jobs—an increase of 1.2%.
The construction unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.4% in July. The national unemployment rate for all industries rose from 4.1% in June to 4.2% in July as the U.S. economy added 73,000 jobs.
Nonresidential construction added 6,400 jobs in July, with growth in two of three subsectors. Heavy and civil engineering added 6,000 jobs; nonresidential specialty trade contractors added 1,900 jobs; and nonresidential building lost 1,500 jobs.
“The construction industry has added just 7,000 jobs over the past four months,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Industrywide employment is up only 1.2% over the past year, a lackluster pace of growth that historically is seen during and immediately following recessions. The good news for ABC members is that the nonresidential segment continues to outperform, growing at twice the pace of the industry at large over the past 12 months. Given that ABC member backlog remains healthy and hiring expectations remain relatively optimistic, according to ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator, it’s possible that weakness will be confined to the residential side of the industry during the second half of 2025.”
