Construction adds 13,000 jobs in March

Associated Builders and Contractors, a trade group, said the year’s growth is the slowest in four years.

The construction unemployment rate decreased to 5.4% in March, flat compared to a year ago. Overall, the unemployment across all industries ticked up slightly month over month to 4.2% in March, according to the BLS.

“At first glance, this is a perfectly fine jobs report for the construction industry,” Anirban Basu, chief economist for ABC, said in a statement. “The details, however, give cause for concern.”

He added that with downward revisions to the January and February numbers, “the industry added just 8,000 jobs per month during the first quarter of 2025. Construction employment is up just 1.8% since March 2024, the slowest year-over-year growth in four years.”

Basu said the industry is bracing for the impact of President Trump’s tariffs announced last week.

“What amounts to the largest tax hike since 1968 will reduce construction activity due to rising input costs, shaken business confidence, and potentially higher-for-longer interest rates,” commented Basu.

The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) also said Trump’s tariffs and potential retaliatory measures from US trading partners have the potential to undermine future employment growth in the sector.

“Contractors added employees at a faster clip than other sectors in March, as pay for construction craft workers outpaced wages for production workers in the overall private sector,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist.

“However, as steep new tariffs and foreign countries’ retaliatory measures take effect, building costs will rise and projects will be put on hold, posing a threat to employment,” he added.

The AGC found that hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees in construction — covering most onsite craft workers as well as many office workers — climbed by 4.1% over the year to $36.79. per hour. That gain exceeded the 3.9% rise in pay for such workers in the overall private sector, the trade group said.