All 50 states had construction unemployment rates below 10% in September, according to a state-by-state analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released by Associated Builders and Contractors. Nationally, the not seasonally adjusted (NSA) construction unemployment rate was 3.8% for the month, a 0.1% increase from September 2024.
The analysis found that 26 states had lower estimated construction unemployment rates over the same period, 21 had higher rates and three states had the same rates. (As a result of the recent government shutdown in the fall, no October labor data will be made available from the bureau, according to ABC.)
The six states with the lowest estimated NSA construction unemployment rates for September were Oklahoma (1.4%), Hawaii (1.7%), New Hampshire (2%) and Georgia, Indiana and Tennessee (all at 2.2%). Oklahoma, Hawaii and Indiana each notched their lowest September NSA estimated construction unemployment rate on record.
The five states with the highest September estimated NSA construction unemployment rates were Minnesota and Montana (5.9% each), Connecticut (6.7%), Rhode Island (7.5%) and New Jersey (9.4%).
Construction employment increases are slowing, though, according to ABC. “Higher building materials costs due to tariffs, higher insurance costs and rising labor costs along with a shortage of skilled construction workers are weighing upon the construction industry,” said Bernard Markstein, president and chief economist of Markstein Advisors, who conducted the analysis for ABC.
