Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
Construction Guide · By the Numbers
Construction Industry Statistics for 2026: Spending, Jobs, Safety, and Survival
Spending, jobs, pay, profit, safety, and survival, all in one place, each number with its source and what it means for a small contractor. Numbers are current as of October 27, 2026. Part of the construction business guide.
Need help now? Call or text (321) 948-9588. Dr. Paul answers personally.
Last Updated: 10/27/2026 · Written by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
The Short Answer
What Do These Statistics Tell a Small Contractor?
Textbook Definition
Construction statistics measure the size, health, workforce, safety, and survival of the industry. Government sources include the Census Bureau for spending and the Bureau of Labor Statistics for jobs, pay, safety, and business survival.
In Plain English
The numbers say three things: the market is mixed, workers are hard to find, and most new construction businesses do not last ten years. Your own numbers matter more than any average, but these show what you are up against.
Why It Matters
Why Should You Look at Industry Numbers?
Industry numbers help you answer practical questions. Is the market growing in your segment? Will labor cost more next year? Is your profit normal or low? How long do companies like yours last? They do not replace your own books, but they give you a yardstick.
Every number below shows its source and date. Where a figure comes from a vendor survey, a trade group, or a small sample, the table says so. Where we could not confirm a figure, we left it out.
Spending data comes from the Census Bureau. The latest release covers August 2026 and was published October 1, 2026. The next release, for September, is scheduled for November 2. We will update this page then.
Questions these numbers can help you answer:
- Is my segment, residential, nonresidential, or public, growing or shrinking?
- Are wages and hiring pressure going up or down?
- Is my profit margin in a normal range?
- How risky is it to bet on a single type of work?
- How long do construction businesses usually last?
- What does my insurance cost compare with others?
The Numbers
The Numbers, by Topic
Dates are the data month and the release month. Tables show the source in each row.
Spending (Census Bureau, August 2026 release)
| Measure | Figure | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Total construction spending, seasonally adjusted annual rate | $2,203.1 billion, down 1.7% from August 2025 | The market is slightly smaller than a year ago. Up 0.9% from July, but that monthly change is not statistically significant. |
| Private residential | $882.3 billion, down 4.8% year over year | Housing-related work is the weak spot. |
| Private nonresidential | $773.0 billion, down 1.0% year over year | Roughly flat to slightly lower. |
| Public construction | $547.8 billion, up 2.5% year over year | Public work is growing while private work shrinks. See public work. |
| Year to date, January to August | $1,450.4 billion, down 3.1% from $1,496.6 billion in 2025 | A statistically significant decline for the year so far. |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Construction Spending, released Oct. 1, 2026. Figures are preliminary and revised each month.
Jobs and Pay (BLS and AGC, September 2026)
| Measure | Figure | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Construction employment | About 8,364,000, up 109,000 (1.3%) from a year ago | Employment is growing slowly. |
| Monthly change | Up 11,000 in September; average gain of 10,000 a month over 12 months | Steady, small gains. |
| Nonresidential and residential employment | Nonresidential up 2.9%, residential down 1.0% year over year | Jobs are shifting toward nonresidential work. |
| Production worker hourly earnings | About $39, up 4.3% year over year | AGC’s table shows $39.20 and the FRED series shows $39.40, not seasonally adjusted. Confirm the exact figure at BLS if you quote it. |
| Job openings (JOLTS, August 2026) | 251,000, an openings rate of 2.9%, up 38,000 (18%) from a year earlier | Contractors are still hiring. |
| Unemployment, jobseekers with recent construction experience | 3.5%, down from 3.8% a year earlier | AGC’s measure, not BLS’s construction unemployment rate. |
| Florida construction jobs (September 2026) | 657,000, up 3,300 (0.5%) year over year | Growth is slower than the national pace. |
Sources: BLS Employment Situation, Oct. 2, 2026; AGC Data DIGest, Oct. 2, 2026; AGC state table for Florida.
Workforce and Hiring
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| New workers needed | 349,000 net new workers in 2026 and 456,000 in 2027 | ABC, January 2026 |
| Firms with hourly craft openings | 87% | AGC and NCCER, Sept. 2026 |
| Craft openings as hard or harder to fill than a year ago | 88%, and 50% say harder | AGC and NCCER, Sept. 2026 |
| Firms that raised craft base pay by more than the prior year | 55% | AGC and NCCER, Sept. 2026 |
| Firms that had a project delayed by worker shortages | 42%, and 74% had at least one significant delay | AGC and NCCER, Sept. 2026 |
| Superintendent roles hard to fill | 75% of firms with openings | AGC and NCCER, Sept. 2026 |
The AGC and NCCER Workforce Survey had 1,830 respondents and was fielded in July and August 2026. See our hiring guide.
Profit, Backlog, and Costs
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Net profit margin, remodelers (2024 data) | 6.3%, up from 4.7% in 2021 | NAHB, 2026 edition |
| Gross profit margin, remodelers (2024) | 29.9% | NAHB, 2026 edition |
| Operating expenses, remodelers (2024) | 23.6% of revenue | NAHB, 2026 edition |
| Gross margin, general contractors and specialty contractors | About 14.8% and just over 16% | CFMA 2024 report as cited by a CPA firm; secondary |
| Contractor backlog (September 2026) | 8.7 months; 11.3 months for contractors with data center work | ABC via BD+C, Oct. 21, 2026 |
| Contractors expecting margins to shrink | More than 1 in 4, the highest share since November 2025 | ABC survey, Sept. 21 to Oct. 5, 2026 |
| General liability insurance | Median $89 a month; workers’ compensation median $175 a month | Insureon, July 2026; broker data |
| Florida workers’ compensation rates | Average decrease of 6.9% for 2026, the ninth straight annual decrease | Florida OIR, Nov. 2025 |
NAHB covers remodelers only. See how to bid for how thin margins change the math.
Safety (BLS, 2024 Data)
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fatal work injuries in construction | 1,034, a rate of 9.2 per 100,000 full-time workers, down from 1,075 in 2023 | BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries |
| Nonfatal injury and illness rate | 2.2 recordable cases per 100 full-time workers | BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses |
The fatality figure is an industry count. BLS also reports an occupation count (construction and extraction occupations), which is a different measure.
Survival (BLS Business Employment Dynamics)
| Time since opening | Construction establishments still open | All private sector |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 76.0% | 79.6% |
| 5 years | 53.9% | 50.6% |
| 10 years | 40.1% | 34.7% |
Establishments that opened in March 2013, tracked through March 2023. This counts establishments, not firms. Source: BLS. Construction had the lowest first-year survival of the large industry groups.
Cash, Change Orders, and Data Centers
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Subcontractors that floated payroll in the past year | 92%, and 28% did it most months | Siteline, 2026; vendor survey, about 500 finance professionals |
| Subs that waited over 90 days for final payment and retainage | 43%, compared with 15% of general contractors | Siteline, 2026 |
| Subs that missed a mechanic’s lien deadline in the past two years | 56% | Siteline, 2026 |
| Subs that wrote off change order revenue | 66% of 113 subcontractors surveyed | Clearstory and Dodge, 2026; vendor survey |
| Data center construction starts, January to June 2026 | $81.5 billion across 116 projects; June was the second-highest month on record at $22.3 billion | ConstructConnect, July 2026 |
| Firms with data center contracts | About 15% of ABC members; 39% to 40% of firms over $100 million in revenue versus about 10% of smaller firms | ABC via Construction Dive, Oct. 14, 2026 |
See why profitable contractors run out of cash and data center construction for small contractors.
Putting It to Work
What to Do With These Numbers
Compare your margin.
Work out your gross and net margin on the last 12 months. If you are well below the NAHB figures for a similar business, start with job costing.
Check your mix.
If your work is mostly private residential, think about how a 4.8% drop affects you, and whether public or nonresidential work could balance it.
Plan for labor.
Pay and hiring pressure is real. Decide now how you will find and keep people. Start with the hiring guide.
Plan for cash.
With subs waiting 90 days or more, put a 90-day cash calendar in place before you take on more work.
Read your own survival odds.
Four in ten new construction businesses are still open at ten years. The book walks through the five patterns behind most closings and five habits behind the ones that last.
We did not publish the share of construction firms with fewer than 20 employees, OSHA’s Fatal Four percentages, a 2026 tariff estimate for materials, or the CFMA 2025 net margin, because we could not confirm them from a source we could open. We will add them when we can.
Work With Dr. Paul
Three Ways Dr. Paul Helps Construction Owners
Read the page and fix it yourself, or get help. Here is where each option fits.
Business Consulting
For owners stuck in the cash gap, bidding blind, or running every job themselves. Dr. Paul works with you on bids, cash flow, job costing, and getting you off the jobsite.
See consulting and prices →Business Plan Writing
For contractors applying for a loan, a line of credit, a bigger bond, or an expansion. Dr. Paul writes the plan and the financial projections for you.
Construction business plan writer →Business Plan Template
For owners who want to build it themselves. A construction-specific Word plan plus an Excel model with editable bids, job costing, labor, and equipment.
Get the construction template →FAQ
Construction Statistics Questions
How many construction companies fail?
How big is the construction industry in 2026?
What is the average profit margin for a contractor?
How many construction workers are needed?
How dangerous is construction work?
Start with the book. Call when you want your own numbers compared to these.
Keep Going
Related Construction Guides
The numbers point to bids, hiring, data centers, public work, and cash.
How to Bid a Construction Job
The 8-step bid check, markup versus margin, and a walk-away number.
How to Hire Construction Workers
Six moves for hiring and keeping people, plus the Florida rules to know.
Data Center Construction
Who wins the work, what it takes, and a Florida reality check.
Government Work
Registrations, set-asides, bonds, and wage rules before your first public bid.
Why Profitable Contractors Run Out of Cash
The 90-day cash calendar and seven fixes for the gap between payroll and payment.
Small Business Accounting and Finance
The money basics behind every number on this page.
Sources
Where These Numbers and Rules Come From
Every figure on this page comes from a source below. Vendor and trade-group sources are labeled.
- U.S. Census Bureau: Construction Spending, August 2026 (released Oct. 1, 2026) Next release: November 2, 2026.
- BLS: The Employment Situation, September 2026
- AGC: Data DIGest, Oct. 2, 2026 Secondary source drawing on BLS.
- AGC and NCCER: 2026 Workforce Survey (Sept. 3, 2026) 1,830 respondents.
- ABC: Workforce Shortage (Jan. 15, 2026)
- NAHB Eye on Housing: Remodelers Saw Profit Margin Gains in 2024 Remodelers only.
- James Moore: Performance Benchmarks for Construction Companies (June 18, 2025) CPA firm citing CFMA’s 2024 report; secondary.
- BD+C: Contractor Backlog, September 2026 (Oct. 21, 2026) Trade press copy of ABC data.
- BLS: Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2024 data
- BLS: Business Employment Dynamics, establishments born in 2013
- Insureon: Construction Contractors Insurance Cost (July 2026) Broker data.
- Siteline: The State of Subcontractor Billing in 2026 Vendor survey.
- Clearstory and Dodge: The 2026 State of Change Orders, Subcontractor Report Vendor survey; 113 subcontractors.
- ConstructConnect: Data Center Report (July 28, 2026)
Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
Business Consultant, Author & Educator | 14+ Years | 1,000+ Clients Served
Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA is a business consultant, author, and educator, and the founder of Quality Business Plan. He helps small business owners across the United States and Canada, including contractors and specialty trades, with business planning, financial modeling, fractional CFO services, and the everyday problems of businesses that depend too much on their owners. He is the creator of Dr. Paul’s Organize-Plan-Grow™ Strategy, author of numerous published books on Amazon including Top 5 Reasons Construction Companies Fail, and publisher of over 1,000 business-focused videos on YouTube.
This page is for general educational purposes only. It is not legal, financial, tax, accounting, insurance, or other professional advice. Construction laws, licensing rules, and tax rules vary by state and change over time. Dollar examples are illustrations, not projections for your business. For decisions about your own business, consult a qualified professional.