Construction Unemployment Rate Falls to 3.5% in September; All States Under 10%

The national construction unemployment rate was 3.5% in September 2026, down 0.3 percentage point from a year earlier, and every state posted a rate below 10%, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data (Construction Executive; Contractor).

The state figures add another layer to the September labor picture. WCG has already reported the national September jobs report (Construction Adds 11,000 Jobs in September 2026 as Data Center Trades Lead) and the state by state payroll employment counts (Construction Jobs by State: 34 States Up Year Over Year in September). This release looks at a different measure: the share of experienced construction workers who are unemployed in each state.

What Happened

ABC published its state construction unemployment analysis on October 30. The work was done for ABC by Bernard Markstein, president and chief economist of Markstein Advisors (Construction Executive). The rates are not seasonally adjusted, so year over year comparisons are the cleanest way to read them.

National Construction Unemployment Rate

• September rate: 3.5% not seasonally adjusted, down 0.3 point from September 2025 and up 0.4 point from August (Construction Executive; Contractor).
• Payroll employment: not seasonally adjusted construction payrolls were 103,000 higher than a year earlier (Contractor).
• Seasonally adjusted employment: 8.4 million, which is 9.9% above the pre-pandemic peak of 7.6 million (Construction Executive).

Lowest and Highest State Rates

Maryland led the country at 1.7%, its lowest September rate on record. North Carolina followed at 1.8%, its second lowest September reading behind 1.6% in 2019. Georgia and Tennessee tied at 2.1%, with Tennessee posting its second lowest September rate behind 2.0% in 2024, and South Carolina and Utah tied at 2.2% (Construction Executive; Contractor).

At the other end, Massachusetts came in at 5.5%, Michigan at 5.8%, Minnesota at 6.7%, Alaska at 7.5% and North Dakota at 9.5%. All but Alaska, Minnesota and North Dakota were below 6% (Contractor; Construction Executive).

Comparisons to August and to Before the Pandemic

• Compared with August, 4 states had lower rates, 44 had higher rates and 2 (Maryland and Oregon) were unchanged (Contractor).
• Compared with September 2019, 17 states were lower, 31 were higher, and California and New Hampshire were unchanged (Construction Executive).
• 39 states were below their February 2020 pre-pandemic rate (Construction Executive).

Neither published summary of the release gave figures for New York or Florida, so contractors in those states should check the full ABC state tables for their own numbers.

What Is Driving the Numbers

Markstein said the industry is facing higher energy prices, materials prices and labor costs, and that data center construction is absorbing a significant share of available skilled labor while contributing to elevated building materials prices (Contractor; Construction Executive). That fits what WCG has seen in other September data, where contractor backlog rose on the strength of data center work (Contractor Backlog Rises to 8.7 Months in September as Data Centers Lead).

Implications for Owners, Developers, Contractors and Subs

• Labor stays tight in most states. With 47 states under 6% and the national rate down from last year, contractors should expect continued pressure on wages and on crew availability (Construction Executive).
• Data centers compete for the same trades. Skilled workers pulled to large data center jobs leave fewer people for commercial, institutional and industrial projects nearby (Contractor).
• Schedules need labor checks. Owners planning 2027 starts should ask bidders how they will staff key trades, and build realistic durations into schedules rather than assuming crews are available.
• Read the year over year change. Because these rates are not seasonally adjusted, month to month moves such as the 0.4 point rise from August partly reflect the calendar, so the 0.3 point decline from a year earlier is the better signal (Contractor).

What to Watch

• The October state data, which will show whether the year over year improvement continues into the slower building season.
• Whether data center demand keeps pulling skilled labor away from other project types, as Markstein described (Contractor).
• Wage and materials cost trends tied to the energy and materials pressures cited in the release (Construction Executive).

Bottom Line

The national rate stood at 3.5% in September 2026, lower than a year ago, and every state was under 10%. Maryland’s record low 1.7% and North Dakota’s 9.5% mark the range, and the analysis points to data centers as a major draw on skilled labor (Construction Executive; Contractor).

Key Questions

What is the construction unemployment rate in September 2026?

The national construction unemployment rate was 3.5% not seasonally adjusted in September 2026, down 0.3 point from September 2025, according to ABC’s analysis of BLS data (Contractor).

Which state has the lowest construction unemployment rate?

Maryland had the lowest construction unemployment rate in September 2026 at 1.7%, its lowest September rate on record (Construction Executive).

Which state has the highest construction jobless rate?

North Dakota had the highest construction unemployment rate in September 2026 at 9.5%, followed by Alaska at 7.5% and Minnesota at 6.7% (Contractor).

How many construction workers are employed in the U.S.?

Seasonally adjusted U.S. construction payroll employment was 8.4 million in September 2026, 9.9% above the pre-pandemic peak of 7.6 million (Construction Executive).

Related Coverage

• Construction Jobs by State: 34 States Up Year Over Year in September
• Construction Adds 11,000 Jobs in September 2026 as Data Center Trades Lead
• Construction Adds 22,000 Jobs in August as Unemployment Hits Record 3.1%
• Contractor Backlog Rises to 8.7 Months in September as Data Centers Lead

Image credit: shraga kopstein on Unsplash (Unsplash License).

Sources

• Construction Executive, All 50 States Had a Construction Unemployment Rate Below 10% in September; Maryland Posts Lowest Unemployment Rate Ever, https://constructionexec.com/article/all-50-states-had-a-construction-unemployment-rate-below-10-in-september-maryland-posts-lowest-unemployment-rate-ever/
• Contractor, Construction Unemployment Rate Falls 0.3% Year Over Year, https://www.contractormag.com/construction-data/news/55415582/construction-unemployment-rate-falls-03-year-over-year