Industry Employment and Wage Gains Continue to Outpace Overall Labor Market; Association Officials Warn Demand for Data Center and, Immigration Crackdown Add to Industry’s Longstanding Workforce Challenges
Construction firms added 22,000 jobs in August and the industry’s unemployment fell to an all-time low of 3.1% according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government data released today. Association officials cautioned, however, that results of its latest workforce survey finds contractors struggling to fill openings amid surging demand for data center construction and a crackdown on immigration.
“The boom in data center construction, along with advanced manufacturing and power projects, is supporting a strong upturn in industry employment and wages despite weakness in homebuilding and other project types,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “However, our latest workforce survey finds all types of contractors are struggling to fill open positions, even as pay for craft workers is rising faster than in other sectors.”
Construction employment totaled 8,359,000 in August, an increase of 22,000 from July. Since August 2025 the industry has added 120,000 jobs, a gain of 1.5%, outpacing the 0.4% increase in total nonfarm payroll employment.
The unemployment rate among recent construction workers fell to 3.1%, not seasonally adjusted, the lowest for any month in the 26-year history of the data. That low rate has made filling open positions the top challenge for many contractors, according to the workforce survey the association released this week. The survey, which the association conducted in July and August along with NCCER, drew 1,830 responses overall and found 88% of respondents reported as much or greater difficulty than a year ago filling hourly craft positions.
Job gains over the past year were predominantly among nonresidential construction firms, although residential contractors also added jobs in the latest month. Nonresidential construction firms added 10,400 employees for the month and 139,200, or 2.8%, over the past year. Residential builders and subcontractors combined added 10,700 workers in August, although employment remained 19,800, or 0.6%, below its August 2025 level.
Among nonresidential firms, heavy and civil engineering construction employment increased by 4,400 positions in August and 27,200, or 2.3%, over 12 months. Nonresidential specialty trade contractors added 7,800 workers for the month and 86,000, or 3.0%, over the year. Nonresidential building firms shed 1,800 positions in August but added 26,000, or 2.8%, over the past year.
Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees in construction, which covers most onsite craft workers as well as many office staff, increased to $39.36 per hour in August. That figure is 21.0% higher than the $32.53 average for all private-sector production employees. Construction pay rose 5.0% over the past year, compared with a 3.3% gain for production workers in the overall private sector.
Association officials noted that competition for qualified construction workers remains intense. The association’s newly released workforce survey found that data center construction is increasing competition for skilled workers, while stepped-up immigration enforcement is also affecting labor availability at some firms.
“Contractors are paying more to attract workers, but higher wages alone cannot solve the industry’s workforce challenges,” said Jeffrey D. Shoaf, the chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America. “Officials need to invest in construction education and training, pursue sensible immigration reforms and support the infrastructure and development projects that are creating high-paying construction careers.”
View the construction employment data. View the AGC-NCCER workforce survey materials.