Construction employment increased in half of the nation’s 360 metro areas between September 2025 and September 2026, according to an analysis of new government employment data by the Associated General Contractors of America.
The AGC attributed the growth to project types such as large data centers, power projects that accommodate them and manufacturing plants.
“More often than not, there is a correlation between where data centers or large power and manufacturing facilities are getting built and which metro areas are adding new construction jobs,” Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, said in a press release.
“That is because demand for many other types of projects has been stalled by rising costs and/or political uncertainty,” he said.
The metro areas that added the most construction jobs were Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, Texas (+13,800 jobs or 5%) and Baton Rouge, Louisiana (+12,300 jobs, 27%).
Construction employment declined in 118 metro areas and was unchanged in 62 areas, the AGC said.
Metro areas that lost the most construction jobs were Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia (-5,100 jobs, -5%), and the Jersey City-White Plains, N.Y.-N.J. metro division (-4,500 jobs, -6%).
In Wisconsin, which added 7,600 construction jobs overall, the Madison metro market added 1,400 jobs and the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro added 1,300.
“More often than not, there is a correlation between where data centers or large power and manufacturing facilities are getting built and which metro areas are adding new construction jobs,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “That is because demand for many other types of projects has been stalled by rising costs and/or political uncertainty.”
