Construction jobs in Nassau and Suffolk counties have declined over the last year, according to a recent report from the Associated General Contractors of America. The 5% drop ends a streak of construction job growth dating back to the late stages of the pandemic.
The report analyzed government employment data between April 2024 and April 2025 for 360 metro areas across the country.
Nassau-Suffolk saw a decline in construction jobs from 82,200 to 78,100 in that span for a drop of 4,100 jobs. This total ranked fifth out of all metros surveyed, with only Seattle-Bellevue-Kent, Washington; New York City; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.; and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. seeing higher individual employment loss.
Some 51% of the metro areas in the report saw construction job growth, a decrease from 61% last year. AGC officials say the uneven results are due to several economic and workforce-related factors.
“Demand for infrastructure, public facilities and data centers is helping boost construction employment in many parts of the country,” said Macrina Wilkins, the association’s senior research associate. “But that demand has not been enough to offset labor shortages and broader economic uncertainty in many other parts of the country.”
From April 2021 to April 2022, construction job growth in Nassau-Suffolk saw a 4% increase, with a 1% increase in the same timeframe the following year. Last year’s report, covering April 2023 to April 2024, showed a 2% increase, adding 1,800 new jobs. This period of growth followed a pandemic-era decline of 7% between July 2019 and July 2020.
Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, Virginia-West Virginia had the most total jobs added, with 7,700, good for a 9% rise. The metro with the highest percentage increase was Las Cruces, NM, gaining 19%, or 800 jobs. Monroe, MI, saw the largest percentage decline, with a loss of 20%.
Nationally, a separate AGC report showed an increase of 4,000 construction jobs in May. Total headcount rose by 1.5% over the last 12 months, lower than the 2.8% increase seen during the same period in the previous year.
Average hourly wages for nonsupervisory employees in the sector grew year over year, seeing a 4.7% boost. This figure tops the 4% wage growth in the overall private sector during the same timeframe. Hiring and layoff rates increased by 4.2% and 2.1%, respectively.
“Construction firms continue to hire and boost wages, but the pace of growth has slowed as demand for certain types of projects cools,” said Jeffrey D. Shoaf, the AGC’s CEO. “As federal officials provide more certainty about tariffs, taxes and investment levels, demand for projects is likely to rebound.”
