Every state recorded a construction unemployment rate below 10% in June, according to Associated Builders and Contractors’ state-by-state analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. All but three states were below 7%.
What the Numbers Show
The national not-seasonally-adjusted construction unemployment rate was 4.7% in June. Connecticut, New Jersey and Rhode Island were the only states at or above 7%, although each still remained below 10%.
Why the Market Is Moving
ABC also found that estimated construction unemployment rates were lower than their February 2020 pre-pandemic levels in 34 states. That is a useful benchmark because it shows that many local construction labor markets remain tighter than they were before the pandemic.
What It Means for Contractors
National nonseasonally adjusted construction employment was 59,000 higher than in June 2025. Seasonally adjusted payroll employment was about 8.3 million, roughly 9.5% above the pre-pandemic peak of 7.6 million.
What It Means for Workers
Low unemployment across all 50 states does not mean hiring conditions are identical. State employment growth varies widely, and specific trades can be much tighter than the overall rate. Electricians, welders, pipefitters, equipment operators and experienced supervisors may face different supply conditions in the same market.
The Bigger Employment Picture
For contractors, the report reinforces the need to recruit before a project starts. When unemployment is low everywhere, there is no obvious state with a huge unused construction workforce waiting to be hired.
What to Watch Next
The national labor shortage is therefore not only a problem in booming Sun Belt markets. It is broad enough that workforce planning, apprenticeship, retention and productivity improvements matter in almost every region.
Why This Matters Now
Construction employment data can change quickly, so the best view comes from several measures at once. Payroll growth shows whether companies are adding people. Job openings show how many positions employers are still trying to fill. Unemployment shows how many experienced workers may be immediately available. Wage growth shows how hard employers are competing for labor. When several of those measures point in the same direction, the trend is more meaningful than a single monthly number.
What the Unemployment Rate Does—and Does Not—Show
The construction unemployment rate measures workers who are unemployed and actively looking for work. It does not count the much larger group of people who already have jobs but may consider a better offer. That is why contractors can still recruit in a low-unemployment market. The challenge is that they are often persuading someone to leave another employer rather than selecting from a large pool of available workers.
Low Unemployment Raises the Cost of a Bad Hiring Process
When qualified candidates have several options, delays matter. A slow interview schedule, unclear compensation or repeated approvals can cause an employer to lose a candidate before an offer is made. Contractors that know their pay range and decision-makers before recruiting begins can move faster. That becomes especially important for project managers, estimators, foremen and licensed craft positions that may attract multiple offers.
Reading the Trend Carefully
Monthly employment reports are estimates and are revised as more information becomes available. They are most useful for identifying direction and scale rather than predicting the exact number of people a contractor can hire in one city. Project starts, completions and seasonal patterns can move the numbers from month to month. For that reason, contractors should combine public data with current bid activity, backlog and their own recruiting results before changing a workforce plan.
Source: Associated Builders and Contractors. This is an original iBidElectric news summary based on current publicly available employment reporting.
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