ABC: Construction quit levels surge to 198,000 in September as labor shortages reeemerge
The construction industry had 298,000 job openings on the last day of September, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).
JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings increased by 36,000 last month and are up by 92,000 from the same time last year.
“Nearly 200,000 construction workers quit their jobs in September,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “That’s the most in any month since the first half of 2023 and a strong indication that the industry’s labor supply is once again tightening. Unsurprisingly, contractors have responded by holding on to workers they otherwise might part with; industrywide layoffs are down by 56,000 year over year, and the layoff rate remains lower than in any month on record prior to 2020.
“Reemerging worker shortages will put upward pressure on labor costs, a dynamic that will exacerbate the effects of high borrowing costs and ongoing materials price escalation,” said Basu. “More than in 1 in 4 contractors expect their profit margins to contract over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, and that share will likely rise if labor shortages continue to intensify into early 2027.”
Visit abc.org/economics for the Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index, plus analysis of spending, employment, job openings and the Producer Price Index.
Construction Unemployment rate dips 0.3%
In related news, the national September not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rate was 3.5%, a 0.3% decrease from one year ago. According to a state-by-state analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released by Associated Builders and Contractors, all 50 states had a construction unemployment rate below 10% and all but three states (Alaska, Minnesota and North Dakota) had a rate below 6%.
National NSA payroll construction employment was 103,000 higher than in September 2025. Seasonally adjusted payroll construction employment was 8.4 million, or 9.9% above its pre-pandemic peak of 7.6 million.
Estimated state construction unemployment rates were lower than their pre-pandemic (February 2020) level in 39 states. As of September 2026, 17 states had lower construction unemployment rates compared to September 2019, 31 states had higher rates and two (California and New Hampshire) had the same rate.
“The construction industry is facing increased energy prices, materials prices and labor costs, while longstanding issues of higher insurance premiums, tariffs on building materials, shortages of skilled labor and rising interest rates continue to plague the industry,” said Bernard Markstein, president and chief economist of Markstein Advisors, who conducted the analysis for ABC. “Data center construction is also absorbing a significant share of available skilled labor and contributing to elevated building materials prices.”
Recent Month-to-Month Fluctuations
In September, the national NSA construction unemployment rate rose 0.4% from August. Among the states, only four had lower rates, 44 posted higher rates and two (Maryland and Oregon) had the same estimated construction unemployment rates as in August.
The Top States
The six states with the lowest estimated NSA construction unemployment rates for September were:
- Maryland, 1.7%
- North Carolina, 1.8%
- Georgia and Tennessee (tie), 2.1%
- South Carolina and Utah (tie), 2.2%
Maryland had its lowest September NSA estimated construction unemployment rate on record at 1.7%. North Carolina (1.8%) and Tennessee (2.1%) had their second lowest construction unemployment rate on record, behind 1.6% (2019) and 2.0% (2024), respectively. South Carolina (2.2%) had its lowest rate since its 2.1% in 2023.
The Bottom States
The five states with the highest NSA construction unemployment rates in September were:
- Massachusetts, 5.5%
- Michigan, 5.8%
- Minnesota, 6.7%
- Alaska, 7.5%
- North Dakota, 9.5%
Click here to view graphs of U.S. and state overall unemployment rates (Tab 1) and construction unemployment rates (Tab 2) showing the impact of the pandemic, including a graphing tool that creates a chart for multiple states. To better understand the basis for calculating unemployment rates and what they measure, check out the Background on State Construction Unemployment Rates.
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