Construction employment has seen an increase in 34 states and the District of Columbia from January 2024 to January 2025, according to a report by the Associated General Contractors of America. The report also noted that 23 states experienced job growth between December and January, though fewer states added jobs compared to previous months due to uncertainties surrounding project funding and potential tariffs on construction costs.
Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, stated, “While two-thirds of the states added construction jobs over the past year, gains were much less widespread recently.” He attributed some job losses in January to adverse weather conditions and project pauses due to funding uncertainties and tariff concerns.
Over the year-long period, Texas led with an addition of 19,800 construction jobs (a 2.4 percent increase), followed by Florida with 10,700 jobs (1.7 percent). Idaho saw a significant percentage gain of 11.1 percent with an addition of 7,700 jobs. Conversely, California experienced the largest job loss with a reduction of 27,600 positions (-3.0 percent).
For monthly changes from December to January, Utah saw the highest increase with 3,300 new construction jobs (2.4 percent), while Florida faced a decline losing 5,100 positions (-0.8 percent). Arkansas had the largest percentage drop at -1.6 percent.
The association’s officials are calling on the Trump administration to address disputes leading to proposed tariffs or exclude construction materials from such tariffs altogether. Jeffrey Shoaf emphasized that increased construction costs could hinder domestic factory development efforts: “Exempting construction materials from additional tariffs will make it easier for manufacturers to boost domestic production by making it easier to build factories.”
