Construction job growth reached fewer than half of U.S. metro areas, AGC says

Construction employment expanded in fewer than half of the metro areas tracked nationwide over the past year, underscoring a broad slowdown in hiring across the industry. According to REBusiness Online, citing an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), only 42 percent of metro areas posted gains in construction employment between May 2025 and May 2026.

AGC said 152 metro areas added construction jobs during that period, while 161 lost jobs and 47 recorded no change. The Arlington, Virginia-based trade group attributed the weaker employment picture to rising costs, softening demand in some sectors and political threats affecting certain kinds of infrastructure construction.

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, Texas, posted the largest year-over-year gain in construction jobs, adding 12,100 positions, a 5 percent increase. On the downside, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California, recorded the largest numerical decline, losing 6,100 jobs, or 5 percent. Lawton, Oklahoma, had the steepest percentage decline, down 21 percent, or 400 jobs. Monroe, Michigan, and Niles, Michigan, each posted 9 percent declines, representing losses of 200 jobs apiece.

Key Details

The report came from AGC, which analyzed new government employment data. No buyer, seller, property or lease transaction was involved in the source report; instead, the findings focus on metro-level construction hiring trends.

AGC also pointed to federal infrastructure policy as a near-term factor to watch. “Even fewer areas are likely to have job increases later this year if Congress fails to renew federal legislation to fund highway and transit construction after the current law expires in September,” says Macrina Wilkins, director of market insights at AGC, referring to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The source notes that the surface transportation law was ratified by former President Joe Biden and expires on Sept. 30. It allocates federal funding for highways, public transit and intercity passenger rail.

Cost pressures remain another important piece of the picture. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the May producer price index was up 6.5 percent on an annualized basis, the highest level since November 2022. Over the same period, the producer price index for construction materials rose 5.6 percent.

Why It Matters

For commercial real estate professionals, construction employment is a useful indicator of project activity and contractor demand across local markets. A mixed hiring landscape, combined with higher materials costs and uncertainty around future infrastructure funding, may influence development timing, bidding conditions and project planning in the months ahead.

The data also highlights how uneven market conditions have become. Some metros are still adding workers at a meaningful pace, while others are pulling back, suggesting that local demand drivers and sector exposure are playing a larger role in construction activity.