Construction Jobs Up 17,000 in May, Craft Pay Climbs 5%

The Associated General Contractors of America analyzed May’s Bureau of Labor Statistics data and found construction firms added 17,000 jobs, with both nonresidential and residential segments contributing. Craft worker pay rose 5.0% year-over-year, outpacing overall production worker gains. The AGC also flags demand for data centers as a continued driver of nonresidential activity, while noting that tariff-driven materials cost pressure remains a headwind for broader growth.

A 5% annual wage increase for craft workers is not a rounding error in a sub’s estimate. It’s the number sitting inside every mechanical, electrical, and concrete bid you received this spring, whether the sub broke it out or buried it in their unit costs. The subs who eat that escalation without adjusting their number are the ones who’ll be in a conversation about change orders by month four. The ones who priced it in look high on bid day. Neither outcome is great for your budget if you didn’t account for the same 5% when you built your cost model.

Read the full story at AGC News.