Construction sector employment declined by 7,000 positions in August and has remained little changed since December, according to an analysis of new government data the Associated General Contractors of America released today. Association officials noted the results are consistent with a survey the association released last week that found many owners have cancelled, deferred, or scaled back projects due to tariffs and labor shortages.
“The latest figures show that nonresidential construction—not only homebuilding—has stalled,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “That fits with reports that owners have hit the pause button on many projects, in large part because of uncertainty over the impact of tariffs and other policy upheavals, as our workforce survey found.”
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