NJ Among the Highest Construction Unemployment in the Nation, Expansion of PLAs will Exclude Majority of NJ Construction Workers

WASHINGTON, DC -- The national December 2025 not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rate was 5.0%, a 0.2% decrease from December 2024, according to a state-by-state analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today by Associated Builders and Contractors. However, New Jersey posted a 10.1% construction unemployment rate, placing it among the five worst states in the nation.

“With New Jersey now among the bottom five states for construction unemployment, we should be doing everything possible to create jobs – not limiting who can work,” said Samantha Roman, President of Associated Builders and Contractors New Jersey Chapter. “The broad expansion of Project Labor Agreements will exclude the majority of New Jersey’s construction workforce and will only deepen the state’s unemployment crisis.”

The analysis found that 60% of states (30) had lower estimated construction unemployment rates over the same period, 17 had higher rates and three states (New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Texas) had the same rate.

National NSA payroll construction employment was 12,000 higher than December 2024, its smallest year-over-year increase since March 2021 when it fell during the pandemic. Seasonally adjusted payroll construction employment was 8.3 million, or 9.1% above its pre-pandemic peak of 7.6 million.

Estimated state construction unemployment rates were lower than their pre-pandemic level in 60% of states. As of December 2025, 30 states had lower construction unemployment rates compared to December 2019, while 18 states had higher rates and two states (Georgia and New Mexico) had the same rate.

“The construction industry continues to contend with weaker demand from the headwinds of tariffs and supply disruptions pushing building materials prices up, increasing insurance costs and an uptick in immigration enforcement contributing to a shortage of skilled construction workers, which has added to pressure to raise wages and salaries,” said Bernard Markstein, president and chief economist of Markstein Advisors, who conducted the analysis for ABC.

“On the positive side, a somewhat easier policy stance by the Federal Reserve has resulted in lower interest rates. Further declines in interest rates are likely this year. Adoption of software and equipment powered by artificial intelligence may help some companies to control costs and reap greater efficiency from their existing workforce.”

The Bottom States

The five states with the highest September estimated NSA construction unemployment rates were:

46. Illinois, 9.4%

47. New Jersey, 10.1%

48. Connecticut, 10.5%

49. Rhode Island, 11.2%

50. Minnesota, 13.4%

Click here to view graphs of U.S. and state overall unemployment rates (Tab 1) and construction unemployment rates (Tab 2) showing the impact of the pandemic, including a graphing tool that creates a chart for multiple states. To better understand the basis for calculating unemployment rates and what they measure, check out the Background on State Construction Unemployment Rates.