Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, Texas and Baton Rouge, La. Have Largest Job Gains Over 12 Months; Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. and Lawton, Okla. Have Worst Number and Percent of Job Losses
Construction employment increased in fewer than half—173, or 48%, out of 360—of metro areas between July 2025 and July 2026, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government employment data. Association officials said that despite the widespread job losses, contractors that are building data centers and advanced manufacturing facilities are still struggling to find qualified workers to hire.
“Demand for workers is currently very unbalanced,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Contractors that are building data centers, power projects and advanced manufacturing plants can’t find enough skilled workers, while firms in a majority of metro areas are stagnating or shedding employees.”
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, Texas added the most construction jobs over the year (13,100 jobs or 5%), followed by Baton Rouge, La. (12,400 jobs, 27%); St. Louis, Mo.-Ill. (11,400 jobs, 14%); Columbus, Ohio (8,500 jobs, 14%) and Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. (7,200 jobs, 7%). Baton Rouge had the largest percentage gain, followed by Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Ill. (15%, 1,700 jobs); Columbus; St. Louis and Sandusky, Ohio (13%, 300 jobs).
Construction employment declined in 127 metro areas and was flat in 60 areas from July 2025 to July 2026. The largest job loss occurred in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. metro area (-6,100 jobs, -5%), followed by the Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley, Calif. metro division (-4,400 jobs, -6%); Pittsburgh, Pa. (-3,800 jobs, -6%); the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga. Metro division (-3,700 jobs, -3%); and New York City (-3,300 jobs, -2%). The steepest percentage loss occurred in Lawton, Okla. (-12%, -200 jobs), followed by Niles, Mich. (-9%, -200 jobs) and two areas with 7% losses: Lake Havasu City-Kingman, Ariz (-400 jobs) and Walla Walla, Wash. (-100 jobs).
Association officials noted that they will be releasing the results of an annual workforce survey, in partnership with NCCER, on Thursday, Sept. 3 during a virtual media briefing at 1 p.m. EDT. Those survey results will show just how much demand for data centers and related projects is contributing to tight construction labor market conditions. The officials added that the new data demonstrates the need for more investments in workforce training and development even as demand for certain types of projects remains soft.
“Data centers and a handful of other types of construction projects appear to be driving most of the momentum and labor needs for the industry,” said Jeffrey D. Shoaf, the association’s chief executive officer. “What our survey hopes to answer is by how much and what does that mean for contractors and the broader economy.”
View the metro employment data by metro, rank and top 10 changes.