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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
The NWS wind chill formula and the ACGIH work/warm-up schedule turn a cold-day forecast into break minutes and crew hours a contractor can budget.
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.
Feature AI
Bluebeam surveyed 750 US design and construction decision-makers on AI adoption, barriers to scaling, reported benefits, savings and hiring.
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.
| 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 | How to plan winter crew hours from wind chill and the ACGIH warm-up schedule, with a steel erection example | The NWS wind chill formula and the ACGIH work/warm-up schedule turn a cold-day forecast into break minutes and crew hours a contractor can budget. | ||
| 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. | ||
| AI | Bluebeam survey of 750 US AEC firms finds 28% run AI in production and 17% credit it with less rework Feature | Bluebeam surveyed 750 US design and construction decision-makers on AI adoption, barriers to scaling, reported benefits, savings and hiring. | ||
| 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. | ||
| AI | Bedrock Robotics raises $600 million after its retrofitted excavators began paid, operator-free earthwork in August | Bedrock Robotics retrofits existing excavators to dig on their own once a site manager sets the plan, and says contractors now pay for that work. | ||
| Data | How to price per diem for a traveling crew with the FY 2027 GSA rates, $181 a day in most of the US | GSA's FY 2027 standard per diem is $113 for lodging and $68 for meals. This example prices a four-person crew on a three-week out-of-town job. | ||
| Data | How to compute overtime premium on a 50-hour week, with a $40 wage that averages $44 | Overtime premium is the extra half-rate on hours past 40. This example turns a $40 wage into $44 per hour worked on a 50-hour week. | ||
| AI | Origin raises $20 million for OG-1, a robot that applies joint compound, sands and primes drywall | Origin's OG-1 robot applies joint compound, sands and primes interior walls up to 14 feet high, while the crew maps the site and refills material. | ||
| Data | How to annualize Davis-Bacon fringe benefit credit, with a $1,200 health premium worth $7.50 an hour | Davis-Bacon fringe credit divides benefit cost by all hours worked. In this example a $1,200 monthly health premium earns $7.50 an hour of credit. | ||
| 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 | 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 | 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. | ||
| AI | Punchcard survey finds 64% of Canadian construction workers trust AI to read drawings and 87% get no formal AI support | A Punchcard and Angus Reid poll of 1,100 Canadian workers finds construction trusts AI with drawings and codes but gets the least employer support. | ||
| 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. | ||
| AI | Anthropic's robot exposure index rates operating engineers at 1.6 out of 3 and electricians at 0.33 Feature | Anthropic scored every US occupation on how much of its work robots can do today. In construction, equipment operators score highest and electricians low. | ||
| AI | a16z says AI accounts for nearly all new construction spending, and Census shows data centers up 57.2% as the total fell 3.8% Feature | a16z's State of Markets deck credits AI with nearly all new construction spending. Census shows data centers up 57.2% in a year as the total fell 3.8%. | ||
| 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. |