February Marks Slowest Rate of Construction Hiring on Record
Analysis of federal data indicates that construction hiring fell to the slowest rate on record in February.
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The number of open construction sector jobs declining from 230,000 in January to 202,000 in February. Compared to a year ago, the total decreased by 53,000.
Robert D. Dietz, chief economist and senior vice president for economics and housing policy for the National Association of Home FeBuilders noted that the current level of open jobs is down measurably from three years ago due to declines in construction activity, particularly in housing.
However, he added that recent gains for nonresidential construction have not fully offset soft conditions for housing with respect to the demand for construction labor.
Dietz said the construction job openings rate decreased to 2.4% in February, down from the 3% rate estimated a year ago.
In addition, the layoff rate in construction declined slightly to 1.8% in February and the quits rate decreased to 1.3% for the month.
“Contractors remained reluctant to lay off workers while employees were even more reluctant to leave,” said Anirban Basu, Associated Builders and Contractors chief economist. “The combination of historically slow hiring and exceedingly few separations made February 2026 the month with the least construction labor force churn since the BLS began this survey in December 2000.”
He pointed out that the data pertains to February, when the Strait of Hormuz was open and the price of oil was still under $1000 per barrel.
“While contractors continue to express optimism regarding their staffing intentions, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, recent data and developments suggest that hiring is unlikely to rebound in the near future,” Basu said.
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