Nonresidential construction adds jobs in November

The construction industry added 28,000 jobs in November according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released Dec. 16 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

On a year-over-year basis, ABC says industry employment has expanded by 58,000 jobs, an increase of 0.7 percent compared to 2024. Nonresidential construction employment experienced gains in all three subcategories. Nonresidential specialty trade added 18,700 jobs, while nonresidential building and heavy and civil engineering added 5,100 and 5,000 jobs, respectively.

“Construction industry job growth has picked up over the past three months,” ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu says. “The industry has added 52,000 jobs since August, a stark reversal from the 9,000 jobs lost during the first eight months of the year.”

The construction unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in November. Unemployment across all industries rose to 4.6 percent and is 0.4 percentage points higher than one year ago.

“This recent rebound has been led by rapid growth in nonresidential specialty trade contractor employment, a trend that is at least partially due to the surging need for electricians caused by the data center construction boom,” Basu says.