Construction Added 26,000 Jobs in March: But Pay Is the Story

Construction Executive reports that the industry added 26,000 jobs in March, recovering from a notably slow February. Gains came from both residential and nonresidential segments. The article draws on AGC commentary noting that firms are raising pay to attract and hold workers, with construction employment and wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics confirming the trend. The piece is relevant to any GC carrying labor-intensive scopes or actively working on staffing for upcoming pursuits.

The rebound number gets the headline, but the wage escalation buried underneath it is the real issue for estimators. If your subs are paying more per hour to hold their crews, that cost shows up in their next bid, not in a line item labeled “wage increase”, it shows up as a higher base price with tighter exclusions and a shorter validity window. Labor budgets built in Q4 2025 are already stale. If you’re bidding work that breaks ground in late 2026, your subcontractor numbers need a fresh call, not a carry-forward. The market is repricing faster than most bid cycles account for.

Keeping your subcontractor database current, who’s hiring, who’s stretched thin, who just lost key field personnel, matters more when the labor market is moving fast. Comms Center lets estimators track sub conversations, bid responses, and contact history in one place, so you always know which relationships are warm and which have gone quiet. Learn more at commscenter.com.

Read the full story at Construction Executive.