US Nonresidential Construction Employment Climbs in May

On Friday, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC)—a national construction industry trade association representing more than 23,000 members—reported that nonresidential construction employment rose by 11,300 jobs in May, based on its analysis of data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

All three nonresidential subcategories saw job gains: specialty trade contractors added 4,500 positions, heavy and civil engineering added 3,700, and nonresidential building construction added 3,100.

The construction unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in May, while the overall national unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%.

In remarks accompanying the report, ABC Senior Economist Anirban Basu said:

“The nonresidential construction segment has now added jobs at over twice the pace of the broader economy during the past 12 months. This hiring has been aided by softness in the residential segment, which lost over 7,000 jobs in May, freeing up workers for nonresidential contractors. Even so, the industrywide unemployment rate fell to an exceptionally low 3.5% in May, indicating that the labor supply remains unusually tight.

Despite healthy nonresidential hiring, the broader industry has added just 25,000 jobs from January to May. That marks the slowest five-month employment growth since 2020 and provides a clear indication that high interest rates, tight lending standards, and policy uncertainty are weighing on industrywide momentum. Of course, contractors remain broadly optimistic in the face of those headwinds, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, with a majority of contractors expecting their staffing levels to increase over the next six months.”