Recent data on the U.S. job market has flashed some worrying signs lately, but the construction industry sees greater demand for workers.
“Failing to do so will worsen labor shortages, especially in certain occupations and regions, placing further upward pressure on labor costs,” ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu warned in a statement.
But despite the AI infrastructure boom, the majority of new-worker demand this year is due to retirements instead of increased need for construction services, he added. This year’s forecast also marks a decline from previous years.
Still, ABC said overall construction spending is poised to break a slump and return to growth for the first time in years. And according to its model, every additional $1 billion spent on construction translates to demand for 3,450 fresh jobs.
If spending forecasts prove to be overly conservative, then the industry will need even more workers, Basu said. In fact, just days after the ABC report, quarterly reports from AI hyperscalers stunned Wall Street with jaw-dropping capital expenditure forecasts for 2026.
While tech giants stoke construction demand, President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has largely cut off the flow to a traditional pool of workers for the sector.
ABC calculated that outlays for new data center construction during the first 10 months of 2025 jumped 32% from the same period a year earlier. And since August 2024, nonresidential specialty trade contractors have added 95,000 jobs.
The industry’s demographics pose an additional challenge as nearly one-fifth of the construction workforce is over 55. Apprenticeships and licensing require years of training for certain trades, slowing the replacement of retiring workers.
Such forecasts contrast with recent speed bumps in the broader labor market. The share of consumers who think jobs are hard to find is at a five-year high. The number of announced layoffs in January hit the highest since 2009, while job openings in December were the lowest in five years.
