Construction industry job openings decreased by 38,000 last month even as hiring in the sector slowed to its lowest rate on record, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Tuesday.
With that said, we believe that slow down is due to outside pressures stemming from President Trump’s tariff uncertainties and how it (likely will not) impact the construction industry moving forward. At Cornerstone Recruiting, we have a very optimistic outlook on hiring for the industry as we move deeper into 2025.
One factor driving construction workforce growth is that contractors are still in the thick of executing projects created by the Infrastructure and Jobs Act of 2021 and its $1.4 trillion in funding. It does seem to have driven up the number of construction jobs. Consider that at the beginning of 2021, the private construction industry had around 7 million emplo
yees, according to ADP Research Institute data. Three years later, nearly 8 million people work in the industry.
But the construction industry is also at a stage where working baby boomers are approaching retirement age, creating a shortage of knowledge and experience as they leave. And the issue is compounded by the trend of millennials and Gen Zers seeking non-labor jobs. However, wages continue to rise, industry wide, and we are seeing many younger people participating in the hunt for a new construction job.
We fully expect the Trump administration to diligently work through the tariff uncertainties, which will leave construction companies scrambling to catch up with a workforce not ready to meet the demand. If you are interested in new construction job opportunities in the United States, we have hundreds, which can be found here: https://csrecruiting.com/open-positions/