Houston and Baton Rouge lead metro construction job gains
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Construction employment rose in exactly half of US metro areas over the past year, with the gains concentrated in places where data center, power, and factory projects are being built. That is the finding of an Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) analysis of government data, released Oct. 28.
Between September 2025 and September 2026, 180 of 360 metro areas added construction jobs, 118 lost jobs, and 62 were unchanged. Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, Texas, added the most jobs, at 13,800, or 5%. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was close behind with 12,300, a 27% increase that was also the largest percentage gain in the country.
The split matters because it shows how unevenly construction demand is now spread. Hiring has grown where large data center and power projects are underway, while in many other markets, AGC says, projects are being delayed or canceled.
Data centers and power projects are driving construction hiring
AGC chief economist Ken Simonson linked the gains to the type of work underway, saying demand for many other types of projects “has been stalled by rising costs and/or political uncertainty.”
Further down the leaderboard, St. Louis and Columbus, Ohio, each added 10,700 jobs, increases of 13% and 17% respectively. Lafayette, Louisiana, gained 15%, while Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana, and Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Illinois, each grew 14%. Louisiana accounts for 3 of the 5 largest percentage gains.
For contractors, the data shows labor demand following the megaprojects. A metro with a handful of large campuses can see construction hiring rise sharply while most other project types in the same market stay flat.
That has practical consequences for firms bidding on work in those markets. Where a few large jobs absorb much of the local craft workforce, smaller projects nearby may find it harder and more expensive to staff.
Construction job losses hit some of the largest markets
The biggest losses came in some of the country’s most established construction markets. The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia, division lost 5100 jobs, or 5%. Jersey City-White Plains, New York-New Jersey, lost 4500 and Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley, California, lost 4400, both down 6%. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California, shed 3900 jobs, and the Lakewood-New Brunswick, New Jersey, division lost 3600.
In percentage terms, Anchorage, Alaska, fell furthest, losing 10% of its construction jobs, or 1400 positions. Niles, Michigan, dropped 9%, Hanford-Corcoran, California, fell 8%, and Fairbanks-College, Alaska, and Gainesville, Georgia, each fell 7%.
AGC points to rising material prices and higher interest rates as reasons developers are delaying or canceling projects outside the data center sector.
Contractors want action on tariffs and highway funding
The association used the data to press its case in Washington. Chief executive officer Jeffrey D. Shoaf said federal officials “can, and should, take steps to address those uncertainties and rising prices.”
It urged federal officials to reconsider high tariff rates, which it says are raising construction costs, and called on Congress to pass the overdue highway and transit bill, which it argues would lift demand for infrastructure work in markets that are not benefiting from the data center build-out.
These are AGC’s positions as an industry association, and the employment figures alone do not show how much of the decline in any single metro comes from tariffs, interest rates, or local factors.
Whether hiring can broaden beyond data centers and power is the question the next round of data will answer. If the highway and transit bill remains unresolved and material costs stay high, the coming months may bring the same divide, with megaproject markets adding workers while many others hold steady or shrink.
Source
Associated General Contractors of America
