Construction employment increased in fewer than half—165 out of 360—of metro areas between June 2025 and June 2026, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government employment data. Association officials noted that construction is either stagnant or declining in more than half of the nation’s metro areas amid uncertainties about materials prices, data center approvals, labor availability and future transportation funding.
“Resistance to new data centers, uncertainty about future federal transportation funding, the loss of workers involved in the Temporary Protected Status program and volatile materials prices are all making it hard for firms in many parts of the country to add workers,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Unless they are quickly resolved, those market uncertainties will likely lead to restrained hiring for the foreseeable future.”
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, Texas added the most construction jobs over the year (15,000 jobs or 6 percent), followed by St. Louis, Mo.-Ill. (12,600 jobs, 16 percent); Baton Rouge, La. (10,200 jobs, 22 percent); Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. (8,200 jobs, 8 percent) and Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C. (7,600 jobs, 9 percent). Baton Rouge had the largest percentage gain, followed by St. Louis; Mobile, Ala. (14 percent, 2,000 jobs); Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Ill. (14 percent, 1,500 jobs) and Amherst Town-Northampton, Mass. (12 percent, 300 jobs).
Construction employment declined in 131 metro areas and was flat in 64 areas from June 2025 to June 2026. The largest job loss occurred in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. metro area (5,300 jobs, -5 percent).
View the metro employment data by metro, rank and top 10 changes.
