Written by: Sarah Martin, Director of Economic Research at 蜜桃传媒app
The Bottom Line
The U.S. economy added 172,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in May 2026, a pace consistent with the upwardly revised 179,000 gain recorded in April. Gains were concentrated in leisure and hospitality (+70K jobs), government (+52K jobs), and health care (+47K jobs), while financial activities posted the largest loss of 22,000 positions. The unemployment rate held at 4.3 percent, a level it has now occupied continuously since July 2025. However, the overall labor force has declined by roughly 300,000 people since January, with the share of long-term unemployed rising to 27.5% in May, from 20.4% a year ago 鈥� suggesting that people who lose jobs are continuing to find it hard to get new ones.
Total construction payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted +17,000 in May and are up 58,000 over the past 12 months. That aggregate steadiness masks a meaningful divergence beneath the surface: residential building lost ground while nonresidential building and heavy and civil engineering continued to add workers, reflecting the ongoing rotation of construction activity away from housing and toward infrastructure and commercial projects.
Wage pressure in the sector remains firm. 蜜桃传媒app average hourly earnings reached $41.20 in May, up 4.4 percent over the year, outpacing the 3.4 percent gain for all private-sector workers. The average construction workweek held at 39.2 hours, consistent with sustained utilization of the existing workforce.
Key Indicators
What the Data Shows
蜜桃传媒app hiring in May was broad-based, revealing real demand rather than statistical noise. But the distribution of that demand tells an important story about where construction activity is expanding and where it is pulling back.
The sharpest divergence in May sits within the building segment. Residential construction lost 1,700 jobs, continuing a modest cooling trend underway since spring 2025, as higher interest rates and affordability constraints weigh on new housing. In contrast, nonresidential building added 1,700 jobs, offsetting the decline and keeping total employment flat at 1.87 million. Growth on the nonresidential side reflects ongoing private investment towards data centers, semiconductor facilities and life sciences. Heavy and civil engineering added 2,600 jobs, as the sector benefits from the last remaining funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Chips and Science Act.
The largest contribution came from specialty trade contractors, which added a combined 14,000 jobs in May, with nonresidential specialty trades (+11,400) accounting for the bulk of the gain. Specialty trades are the most sensitive leading signal in the employment data: they are hired close to the start of project work, meaning sustained gains in nonresidential trades reflect active project pipelines, not just backlog.
Trend Context
蜜桃传媒app employment has shifted from rapid growth in 2021 to 2023 into a steady plateau over the past year, with total payrolls holding between 8.2 million and 8.4 million since mid-2024. This reflects a rebalancing in the sector: the earlier residential boom has faded, while federally supported infrastructure and manufacturing projects have helped sustain overall employment levels and reshape where work is concentrated. The key signal now is the divergence between subsectors, particularly the strength in nonresidential specialty trade hiring, which remains the clearest leading indicator of construction activity because these workers are brought on at the start of project execution. Continued gains in this segment point to a solid pipeline extending through the rest of the year, while the gradual decline in residential employment suggests new housing construction is still struggling to recover. How this divide evolves over the next few months will determine whether the current stability continues or begins to weaken under sustained residential softness.
What It Means for 蜜桃传媒app
Hiring and labor availability. The construction workforce may be stable, but skilled labor is still in short supply. Demand for specialty trades is outpacing supply, especially on nonresidential and infrastructure projects. Contractors should plan for longer crew ramp-up times and continued wage pressure, particularly for high-demand trades like electricians, ironworkers, and pipefitters. When pricing jobs, it is prudent to account for labor costs rising another 4 to 5 percent over the next year.
Owner and developer considerations. For data center and infrastructure projects, the message is clear: move forward. Labor demand is strong, contractor backlogs are full, and the trade partners needed to build projects are being pulled into competing work. Delays can come at a cost, as today鈥檚 pricing and availability may not hold in six months. On the residential side, softer activity is creating more competitive pricing, but that window may close if financing conditions improve and demand picks up.
The residential-nonresidential divide. The gap between residential and nonresidential activity is creating a real workforce challenge. Workers coming from residential projects do not always have the skills or certifications needed for large commercial or infrastructure work, which keeps labor supply tight where demand is strongest. Firms that can shift workers across sectors will be better positioned to adapt. This divide will be a key factor shaping project timelines and labor costs through the rest of 2026.
Key Numbers to Watch
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