Construction Wages Rise 4.2% as Data Centers Pull Specialty Trade Hiring
Nonresidential specialty trade contractors added 12,300 jobs in September, and construction hourly pay is now up 4.2% year over year. That compares with 3% across the private sector, Engineering News-Record reports, citing federal data released Oct. 2.
Construction added a net 11,000 jobs overall. Nonresidential contractors gained 16,100, while residential lost a net 4,900. Residential specialty trade contractors shed 7,900 workers, partly offset by 3,000 new jobs among residential builders. Heavy and civil firms added 2,600, and nonresidential building contractors added 1,200. Average construction hourly earnings reached $41.69, up from $40.01 a year earlier. The industry unemployment rate was 3.5%, down from 3.8%, not seasonally adjusted.
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Chief Economist Anirban Basu tied the specialty trade hiring to the data center boom. Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands added 14,100 construction jobs (6%) in the 12 months through August, per an Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) analysis. Baton Rouge led percentage gains at 29%. Atlanta lost 4,900 jobs and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario lost 4,600.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Reprice labor in Q4 bids. Construction wages are growing 4.2% against 3% for the private sector, and the unemployment rate for the industry has fallen to 3.5%. The federal data does not break out wages by trade, but electrical and mechanical subs pricing work now should assume labor costs above general inflation.
- Expect tighter hiring in Houston and Baton Rouge. Houston’s 14,100-job gain and Baton Rouge’s 29% increase show where demand is already absorbing workers. Subs bidding there should check crew availability before locking in labor rates.
- Residential layoffs may open a hiring window. Residential specialty trades shed 7,900 workers in September. Commercial subs could recruit from that pool, though it is unclear how many of those skills transfer. The report also
