The construction industry had 298,000 job openings on the last day of May, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings increased by 32,000 last month and are up by 76,000 from the same time last year.

“Construction job openings rose to a 10-month high in May,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Unfortunately, that increase likely reflects exceptional demand for certain occupations critical to data center buildouts, like electricians, rather than increased industrywide demand for labor.

“The construction hiring rate fell sharply in May and, at 3.5%, matches February’s all-time low," said Basu. "Rising layoff activity and a falling quit rate also suggest that demand for construction labor weakened in May. Despite these signs, contractors remain optimistic about growing their staffing levels, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index.” 

National nonresidential construction spending slid 1.5% in May, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.267 trillion.

Spending was up on a monthly basis in 11 of the 16 nonresidential subcategories. Private nonresidential spending was down 0.3%, while public nonresidential construction spending was up 0.4% in May.

“Private nonresidential construction spending shrank for the seventh consecutive month in May and is now down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “This weakness is largely due to the ongoing decline in manufacturing-related construction spending as CHIPS Act-supported projects wind down, yet overall there are few sources of momentum in the segment.

“Yes, the amusement and recreation category continues to grow at a healthy pace, and the religious category has rebounded meaningfully over the past year,” said Basu. “But those modestly sized segments are far too small to carry the broader nonresidential market, especially given the weakness in larger categories. For instance, warehouse construction spending, which appeared to stabilize at the start of 2026, has now fallen for three consecutive months and is down 8.5% year over year, while the general office category remains in a state of freefall, down 11.9% since May 2025.

“For now, momentum remains largely concentrated in the data center segment,” said Basu. “As seen in ABC’s most recent Construction Backlog Indicator release, those fortunate enough to have data center work have significantly longer backlogs (11.6 months) than those that do not (8.6 months).”

The construction industry added 11,000 jobs on net in June, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has expanded by 64,000 jobs, an increase of 0.8%.

Nonresidential construction employment increased by 19,900 positions, with gains in all three subcategories. Nonresidential specialty traded added the most jobs, increasing by 14,100 net positions. Nonresidential building and heavy and civil engineering added 3,200 and 2,600 jobs, respectively, in June.

The construction unemployment rate was 4.7% in June. Unemployment across all industries dropped to 4.2% and is 0.1 percentage point higher than one year ago.

“Today’s jobs report was full of positive signs for the nonresidential side of the industry,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “The nonresidential segment continued to add jobs in June and has grown several times faster than the economywide average over the past 12 months.

“At the same time, the supply of labor appears adequate to fuel ongoing hiring,” said Basu. “The industry’s unemployment rate rose to 4.7%, higher than in any June since 2021, and that slack took some pressure off of wage escalation. Average hourly earnings for nonmanagerial construction workers rose at the slowest pace since last September. With ABC contractors signaling ongoing hiring intentions, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, it appears likely that the industry will continue to expand its employment base over the coming months.” 

On June 18, the General Services Administration published significant new procedures for procurements subject to the project labor agreement mandate on large-scale federal construction projects valued at over $35 million through a new Acquisition Letter and PLA Playbook.

The documents explain that moving forward, the agency is utilizing a ‘paired-proposal’ procedure where contractors are still required to submit a bid that includes a PLA, but can optionally also submit a non-PLA bid.

The guidance states that GSA will then compare the PLA and non-PLA prices. However, the PLA bid price is evaluated as if it is 10% lower than its true price (up to $15 million) to reflect the premium that GSA deems reasonable for a PLA.

If the non-PLA price is lower even after the PLA bid is reduced in price, GSA will consider that contractor's non-PLA bid. If the non-PLA bid wins the award, GSA will obtain a PLA mandate exception for that project.

As of now, this guidance appears to only apply to GSA contracts, representing a relatively small percentage of large-scale federal construction.

ABC is still analyzing the impacts of this change. Despite the indication of potential exceptions, the guidance still appears to favor the use of PLA mandates on GSA contracts.

ABC continues to strongly oppose the illegal, discriminatory and inflationary federal PLA mandate through ongoing litigation and advocacy.

Associated Builders and Contractors reported that its Construction Backlog Indicator rose to 9.1 months in May, according to an ABC member survey conducted May 20 to June 3. The reading is up 0.3 months from April and 0.7 months from May 2025. 

View the full Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index data series.

Backlog for the month increased in every region except for the South. Despite the monthly movement, the South remains the region with the longest backlog and the largest year-over-year increase in backlog.

ABC’s Construction Confidence Index readings for sales, profit margins and staffing levels fell in May. The readings for all three components remain above the threshold of 50, indicating expectations for growth over the next six months. 

“Backlog rose to a nearly three-year high in May,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “This increase largely reflects the massive data center investments taking place across the nation, as the 14% of ABC members under contract to work on data centers continue to have much higher backlog (11.6 months) than those that are not (8.6 months). The way this boom is disproportionately benefiting larger contractors helps to explain why contractor confidence slipped in May even as backlog continued to climb.”

By Luiza Mills, 2026 ABC Massachusetts chair, Interstate Electrical Services Corporation

June got off to a very good start for ABC Massachusetts when our Gould Construction Institute (GCI) was awarded a $225,000 grant over three years from the Cummings Foundation to create a “High School-to-Career Pathways in the Skilled Trades” pilot program, which will target 25-30 students per year in six Middlesex County high schools.

GCI, in partnership with Building Mass Careers (BMC) and Franklin Cummings Tech, seeks to address the accelerating construction labor shortage while creating a direct, sustainable pipeline from high school into high-demand skilled trade careers. This team continues to work tirelessly to provide pathways for those looking to get into the trades and enrich their futures.

The construction industry is facing an unprecedented workforce crisis. Nationally, the sector had to attract more than 439,000 new workers in 2025, with that number projected to reach nearly 499,000 in 2026, just to meet growing demand. At the same time, one in five construction workers is now 55 or older, and increased immigration enforcement pressures have further reduced the available labor pool.

The impacts that are being felt acutely across Massachusetts, where construction employment represents only 5.3 percent of the workforce, one of the lowest shares nationally, even as demand continues to grow, leading to project disruptions and higher costs.

In response, this initiative will establish a structured regional talent pipeline through formal partnerships with Bedford, Billerica, Burlington, Chelmsford, Dracut, and Lowell High Schools. Each year, the program will recruit and enroll five to six graduating seniors per school into one of two career pathways: GCI's registered apprenticeship trade programs or Franklin Cummings Tech's college-level Electrical and HVAC courses.  All participants earn apprenticeship-eligible training credits, accelerating entry into paid employment.

The program will measure its success using indicators such as student recruitment levels, enrollment numbers, completion rates and post-program employment placements.

An investment in this initiative is an investment in economic stability, workforce readiness, safety and community prosperity. By building the next generation of skilled construction professionals, this program will strengthen Massachusetts' ability to deliver housing, infrastructure, and clean energy projects for decades to come, and will open the doors of opportunity for our future industry leaders.

A huge thank you to the Cummings Foundation for the grant and the confidence it has expressed in GCI!

Construction input prices increased 2.6% in May compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data. Nonresidential construction input prices increased 2.4% for the month.

Overall construction materials prices are 9.6% higher than one year ago, while nonresidential construction input prices are 9.7% higher. Prices increased in 2 of the 3 energy subcategories last month. Crude petroleum prices increased 11.8% and unprocessed energy materials increased 6.9%. Natural gas prices were down 18.2% in May.

“Construction input prices surged again in May and are now up nearly 10% year over year,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Oil prices, pushed higher by the ongoing Iran conflict, made a significant contribution to the rise in overall materials prices, yet the greater concern is the continuing price growth in tariff-affected inputs like iron, steel and copper. Contractors remain optimistic that their profit margins will expand over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, yet it appears likely that materials price escalation and stubbornly high borrowing costs could eventually weigh on profitability.”

By Michael Sams, Partner at Bowditch

The Massachusetts Appeals Court has affirmed judgment against a public awarding authority for acting in bad faith in refusing to award Revoli Construction a large public works contract. In Revoli, after a Superior Court trial, the Appeals Court affirmed Revoli’s jury verdict against the awarding authority for its bad faith refusal to award Revoli a public works project. The jury awarded, and the Appeals Court affirmed, Revoli’s $3 million dollar lost profit award, which, with interest, totaled $5.2 million at the time of award and now totals well over $6 million dollars. Revoli established at trial that it was the lowest responsible bidder and that the awarding authority acted in bad faith by rejecting its bid. Specifically, Revoli established that the awarding authority predetermined to reject Revoli before conducting any review of Revoli’s responsibility and by then seemingly rigging the review process against Revoli. There are few cases on bad faith in the public construction/public works contract award process and this case provides insight both on what bad faith means and how to win these cases.

As such, the Revoli decision is important for the public construction (including public works) industry. In the public contract awards process, favorites cannot be chosen. Bias is not allowed. Outcomes cannot be predetermined. Responsible bidders cannot be blacklisted. The playing field must be kept level. Low, responsible bidders must be awarded the contract. This decision affirms that when bad faith occurs, the contractor receives its lost profits, even though it did not actually perform.

In what often seems to be a judicial or agency related review process that weighs the review of awarding authority conduct greatly in the awarding authority’s favor, this is a reminder that bad faith exists in that process at times and that these cases can be won. Indeed, to assure the integrity of the public construction bidding processes, contractors should pick their battles wisely, but pursue cases where bad faith can be proven.

The following from the Appeals court is instructive on the issue of bad faith:

Bad faith is a 'general and somewhat indefinite term' that goes beyond 'bad judgment' or 'negligence,' suggesting 'a dishonest purpose or some moral obliquity,' a 'conscious doing of wrong,' or a 'breach of a known duty through some motive of interest or ill will.'" Buffalo-Water 1, LLC v. Fidelity Real Estate Co., LLC, 481 Mass. 13, 25-26 (2018), quoting Spiegel v. Beacon Participations, Inc., 297 Mass. 398, 416 (1937). "In the context of State action, [bad faith] includes the use of an otherwise lawful power for an improper purpose." Judge Rotenberg Educ. Ctr., Inc. v. Commissioner of the Dep't of Developmental Servs., 492 Mass. 772, 790 (2023). See Pheasant Ridge Assocs. Ltd. Partnership v. Burlington, 399 Mass. 771, 777-780 4915-3777-2971.1 (1987) (taking of land for public park pursuant to town meeting vote was invalid where manifest purpose behind taking was to block low or moderate income housing); Northeast Reclamation Corp. v. Wareham, 54 Mass. App. Ct. 564, 566 (2002) (jury's finding of bad faith supported by evidence of "town's pretextual rejection of the plaintiff's bid because of threats of litigation made by an ineligible bidder").

In the Revoli case, the evidence established for the jury that the awarding authority never had worked with Revoli yet decided before any review that it did not want Revoli on the project. It then seemingly rigged the review process to create a façade of propriety, but intended to meet the predetermined end result that Revoli was not responsible.

At the heart of what seemed to drive the awarding authority and its engineer in this direction was Revoli’s willingness on prior non-awarding authority projects to stand up for itself; namely, it’s history of pursuing its change order rights on prior public works projects (indeed, the awarding authority even cited Revoli as litigious early on in court pleadings). The awarding authority and its third-party engineer then concocted evaluations to be completed by awarding authorities on prior projects that were intended to reveal Revoli’s history of pursuing change order claims as a negative.

Revoli countered that it had a contractual, statutory and even constitutional right (to petition the government) to seek change orders and established that its change order history on the projects the awarding authority cited were not only in good faith but resulted in payments to Revoli approaching $2 million dollars. Moreover, the awarding authority was forced to admit that the pursuit of change orders alone is not bad faith, that one had to know about the substance of the change order requests to assess the good faith nature of them and that at the time it assessed Revoli as litigious, the awarding authority had no idea about the nature of Revoli’s change order history or that it had recovered close to $2 million on these claims.

Revoli established other pretextual issues the awarding authority created, as well. It demonstrated that although the awarding authority purported to be concerned about safety as a basis for rejecting Revoli, the bidder to whom it awarded the contract had a documented history of OSHA safety issues approximately ten times higher than Revoli’s. Revoli also demonstrated that the awarding authority ignored all of the positive reviews submitted by awarding authorities that previously worked with Revoli and that even seemingly positive reviews the awarding authority did not ignore, were treated negatively. The evidence also demonstrated that awarding authority personnel had not disclosed much of this to the City Manager at the time he approved Revoli’s rejection and award to the second low bidder.

Contractors cannot give up the fight. Awarding authorities are not benign boxes. They are institutions of people who, like anyone else, are constituted with pride and prejudice and who therefore, for any number of reasons, may act in bad faith. Certainly, that is not always the case but if contractors do not fight to maintain the level playing field in those instances where bad faith occurs, the lessons of the Ward Commission will be lost, along with the level playing field.

Meta Platforms Inc. and Associated Builders and Contractors have announced a partnership to educate and provide construction-ready career pathways for thousands of data center construction technicians kicking off in Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio and Texas as a meaningful step toward meeting the growing demand for data centers workers nationwide.

America’s Workforce Academy is a $115 million investment in the next generation of construction professionals that includes a five-week training program and a job offer from contractors working on Meta projects at the conclusion of the program. It creates another pathway into the construction industry that is an alternative to union apprenticeship programs.

Once an online application process is complete, scholarships, travel, housing and stipends for living expenses are granted to qualified job seekers. They will then participate in career readiness and safety training followed by five weeks of hands-on education, which includes core training and craft training.

“America’s Workforce Academy is a transformational endeavor creating incredible construction-ready careers. ABC is proud to work with Meta, CBRE and academy community partners to welcome all who want to build their career dreams as a professional in construction,” said Michael Bellaman, ABC president and CEO. “As an industry leader, ABC believes in creating opportunities for all on a level playing field and is ready to meet the industry’s needs and help individuals achieve their career dreams. ABC is honored to partner with Meta to expand the pipeline of data center construction workers.

“This new program is an innovative talent solution that is a critical part of addressing the construction industry’s ongoing workforce shortage and creates an accelerated, new-entrant strategy for job seekers,” said Bellaman. “Utilizing ABC’s existing, proven, nationwide educational ecosystem, these programs will be launched at ABC chapter training centers in key markets like Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis and Houston. This new, national partnership will help train the next generation of craft professionals from entry points such as high school graduates, veterans and more.”

“The AI revolution is bringing change but also historic opportunities,” said Meta President and Vice-Chairman Dina Powell McCormick. “Skilled workers electrified rural America one pole at a time. They manned the factories that built the arsenal that won World War II. Now a new generation will pour the foundations and lay the fiber that secures American strength in this new age.”

The American Workforce Academy partnership will: 

• Build a Sustainable Talent Pipeline: establishes scalable, repeatable workforce development models that align industry, training providers and workforce systems to meet ongoing demand.
• Deliver Accelerated, Job-Ready Training: provides standardized, industry-aligned training that equips participants with the skills, safety knowledge and jobsite readiness needed to contribute quickly and effectively.
• Ensure Safety and Productivity From Day One: prepares participants to meet industry and project-specific safety standards and contribute productively on the jobsite from the outset.

“The sustained demand for data center construction technicians means the industry needs an all-of-the-above approach to address this shortage and grow the construction talent pool,” said Bellaman. “This important new partnership reaffirms that the construction industry offers careers of choice in today's complex job market. These new entrants may be beginning their careers on data center projects but by learning multiple competencies, are starting a life-long career in construction with near limitless possibilities.”

ABC member contractors are building the people who build America’s critical infrastructure by investing in flexible, competency-based and market-driven education methodologies to cultivate their long-term skill sets, creating a brighter future for their workers and their families. They deliver long-lasting projects and employ multicraft professionals who go home safe, healthy and fulfilled every day. ABC and its members are working to recruit, educate and upskill the nation’s future construction workforce with a network of more than 800 apprenticeship, craft, safety and management education programs—including 450 government-registered apprenticeship programs—across 20 different occupations.

“Thanks to the crucial, established team members of ABC’s vast network, which includes the National Center for Construction Education and Research, ABC’s 67 chapters, ABC strategic partners and ABC business partners, as well as ABC’s Tech Alliance, we are ready to deliver this transformational construction career readiness program across the country,” said Bellaman.

If you want to help build America’s future, apply to America’s Workforce Academy today.

National nonresidential construction spending increased 0.1% in April, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.250 trillion.

Spending was up on a monthly basis in 10 of the 16 nonresidential subcategories. Private nonresidential spending was down 0.2%, while public nonresidential construction spending was up 0.4% in April.

Spending on data centers, which is included in the office category, increased another 1.9% in April, rising to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $50.7 billion, and is up 28.1% over the past year.

“Nonresidential construction spending inched higher in April, but that growth was entirely due to a sizable increase in public sector activity,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Private nonresidential construction spending fell for the seventh consecutive month and is down nearly 8% from December 2023’s all-time high. While much of the segment’s recent weakness is attributable to the rapid decline in CHIPS Act-incentivized manufacturing megaprojects, private sector construction momentum has been difficult to find outside of the still-ascendant data center segment.

“Those data center projects have buoyed the ABC Construction Backlog Indicator and kept ABC members confident about their outlooks, at least on the whole,” said Basu. “While that particular tailwind will persist for some time, rising materials prices and a lack of momentum in many commercial segments may eventually weigh on contractor sentiment.”