27 States Added Construction Jobs in 2025 — Regional Resilience and What It Means for the U.S. Construction Workforce The construction industry entered 2025 under clouds of inflation, material-cost volatility, and cautious capital spending—yet more than half of U.S. states managed to add construction jobs. Twenty-seven states posted year-over-year gains, proof that [...]
DOT’s New DBE Rule Shakes the Construction Industry On October 3, 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) that fundamentally transforms the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program—one of the cornerstones of diversity and opportunity in the construction industry. This rule eliminates race and sex–based presumptions and [...]
Cost to Complete Accuracy: How Construction Teams Prevent Late-Stage Surprises Construction projects are famous for budget overruns, but the worst financial damage often appears when projects are nearly complete. While project managers carefully monitor early budgets, the final 25 percent of the project lifecycle is when unforeseen costs and unexpected expenses can [...]
The 2025–26 Recruiting Playbook for Hiring Managers The talent war of 2025–26 is here, and it’s rewriting every rule of talent acquisition. In 2024, 24% of U.S. employees were directly approached by competing employers, proving that the hiring battlefield has already shifted. Top candidates are evaluating companies with the same scrutiny investors [...]
Tariffs and Material Costs in 2025: How to Protect Margins and Keep Projects Moving Global commerce is shifting as new tariff policies reshape material costs across international trade. March 2025 marks a turning point that raises risk for procurement, operations, and finance. Current trends show higher global tariffs, rising inputs, and more [...]
AI in Construction: How Intelligent Automation Is Changing Cost, Schedule, and Quality The construction industry has lived with inefficiencies that most sectors would never tolerate. Roughly 85 percent of projects run over budget, and average cost overruns reach 28 percent. Those losses are rarely caused by lack of skill—they stem from outdated [...]
Data Center Construction Boom: 2026 Hiring Surge and Career Opportunities The construction recruiters at The Birmingham Group report that the data center industry is entering the largest hiring surge in its history. With 2026 positioned as the peak year for employment growth across construction and operations, the sector offers unprecedented opportunities for [...]
Construction Industry Outlook 2026: Projects, Workforce, and Technology Trends The construction industry outlook for 2026 shows both remarkable opportunities and pressing challenges. U.S. construction spending is projected to surpass $2.24 trillion in 2025 and grow by another 4.2% in 2026, outpacing the global construction growth rate of 3.3%. This positions construction as [...]
Construction Employment in 2025: Growth Trends, Challenges & Strategic Hiring In 2025, the construction sector continues its paradox: strong hiring momentum amid deep labor scarcity. As workforce demand climbs, construction recruiters must adapt hiring strategies to remain competitive and support economic development. Success in 2025 requires more than tracking job totals. Recruitment [...]
Specialty Trade Employment Boom: Why It’s Reshaping Construction Hiring The construction industry is in the middle of an unprecedented boom in specialty trade employment. While many sectors of the U.S. economy wrestle with uncertainty, specialty trades are expanding rapidly. This surge is creating opportunities for workers and intense competition for construction recruiters [...]
