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Data
BLS says construction employment fell by 3,000 to 8,367,000 in October 2026 as residential specialty trade contractors cut 15,200 jobs.
8,367 October 2026 · -0.0% on the month · +1.5% on the year
Construction employment held near its 25-month high in October
All employees, construction, thousands, seasonally adjusted
Feature Data
BLS fatal injury rates by trade turn a contractor's hours by occupation into a blended rate that shows which crews carry its fatality exposure.
Data
BLS says construction job openings rose to 298,000 in September 2026 from a revised 262,000 in August, and quits rose to 198,000.
Data
BLS OEWS wages let an estimator scale a home-market crew rate to another metro. In this example a $26 Houston carpenter rate becomes $42 to $45 in Chicago.
Feature Data
BLS put September construction unemployment at 3.5%, and ABC's state estimates range from 1.7% in Maryland to 9.5% in North Dakota.
Data
AGC's ranking of BLS metro data shows construction jobs up in 180 of 360 areas and down in 118 from September 2025 to September 2026.
Data
Labor burden adds payroll taxes, insurance and benefits to wages. This example turns a $50 wage into $70.86 per hour worked and checks it against BLS.
| Date | Trend | Category | Title | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data | Construction employment slipped by 3,000 in October as residential specialty trade contractors cut 15,200 jobs | BLS says construction employment fell by 3,000 to 8,367,000 in October 2026 as residential specialty trade contractors cut 15,200 jobs. | ||
| Data | How to weigh crew hours by BLS fatal injury rates, from roofers at 48.7 to electricians at 5.3 Feature | BLS fatal injury rates by trade turn a contractor's hours by occupation into a blended rate that shows which crews carry its fatality exposure. | ||
| Data | Construction job openings rose 14% to 298,000 in September as quits reached 198,000, the most in 25 months | BLS says construction job openings rose to 298,000 in September 2026 from a revised 262,000 in August, and quits rose to 198,000. | ||
| Data | How to adjust a crew wage rate to another metro with BLS OEWS data, from $26 in Houston to $42 in Chicago | BLS OEWS wages let an estimator scale a home-market crew rate to another metro. In this example a $26 Houston carpenter rate becomes $42 to $45 in Chicago. | ||
| Data | Construction unemployment was 3.5% in September, and ABC's state estimates run from 1.7% in Maryland to 9.5% in North Dakota Feature | BLS put September construction unemployment at 3.5%, and ABC's state estimates range from 1.7% in Maryland to 9.5% in North Dakota. | ||
| Data | Construction employment rose in 180 of 360 metro areas in the year to September 2026, with Baton Rouge up 27% | AGC's ranking of BLS metro data shows construction jobs up in 180 of 360 areas and down in 118 from September 2025 to September 2026. | ||
| Data | How to compute labor burden per hour worked, with a $50 wage that costs $70.86 | Labor burden adds payroll taxes, insurance and benefits to wages. This example turns a $50 wage into $70.86 per hour worked and checks it against BLS. | ||
| Data | Prices of goods bought by construction rose 2.2% in September, led by a 24% jump in diesel Feature | BLS producer prices for goods bought by construction rose 2.2% in September and 11.2% in a year. Nonresidential building prices rose 5.4% in a year. | ||
| Data | How to tie a steel escalation clause to a BLS producer price index, with a $1.2 million example | An escalation clause moves a fixed price with a named BLS index. This example adjusts $1.2 million of steel with a 3% trigger and a 10% cap. | ||
| Data | How to compute TRIR and DART from your OSHA 300 log, with a drywall contractor example | TRIR and DART divide recordable cases by hours worked. This example computes both for a drywall contractor and compares them to BLS 2024 rates. | ||
| Data | Commercial furniture prices rose 3.9% in the year to August as steel rose 23% Feature | BLS says producer prices for commercial furniture hit a record in August 2026, up 3.9% in a year, as steel mill products rose 23.4%. | ||
| Data | How to track job hazard analyses as a leading safety indicator | Each signed JHA records a task, a crew and a risk score. Counted weekly, JHA coverage and crew participation show safety gaps before an injury. | ||
| Data | How to measure labor productivity from daily logs and timecards, with a drywall example | Units installed per labor hour come from the daily log and the timecards. This example tracks a drywall crew for 10 days against its estimate. | ||
| Data | Construction added 11,000 jobs in September, led by nonresidential specialty trade contractors | BLS says construction employment rose by 11,000 to 8,364,000 in September 2026, led by nonresidential specialty trade contractors. | ||
| Data | Construction jobs rose in 177 of 360 metro areas from August 2025 to August 2026, led by Houston and Baton Rouge | AGC's ranking of BLS metro data shows construction jobs up in 177 of 360 areas and down in 126 from August 2025 to August 2026. | ||
| Data | Construction job openings fell 16% to 251,000 in August after BLS cut July to 299,000 | BLS says construction job openings fell to 251,000 in August 2026 from a revised 299,000 in July, as hires and layoffs also fell. |